Breathe
by A dragon's crystal
Summary: Both Kai and Rei are both royalties from different kingdoms. What happens when they get engage? [KxR and other pairings] COMPLETE!
1. What do you mean I'm engage!

**Author's Notes**: This is my first shounen-ai fic. Meaning that I've never, once in my life have written one, well…until now at least. I personally think that Kai and Rei are the cutest yaoi couple I know, so I've decided to write one! ^_^ And I had the idea when it was like 12 am. Haha…anyway, please go easy on me!! This is my first time writing a shounen-ai. -_-;; 

**Warning**: This is a shounen-ai fic. Meaning boy/boy relationship! So, if you don't like it then don't read it! Besides, why are you even here if you don't like it huh?! Huh?! So no freakin flamers, 'cuz I'll just use them as a source of heat for my bedroom!! Although constructive criticism to help me on this fic is okie-dokie to me. ^_^ 

**Disclaimer**: I do NOT own Beyblade. Although maybe I can get it for Christmas…hehe…uh oh ***starts running away from an angry mob of lawyers*** 

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**Breathe – Chapter 1: What do you mean I'm engaged?! **

The chambermaid opened the heavy, thick curtains to let the sunshine in. While she opened them, the sunshine illuminated the area, especially gleaming at a bunch of raven-hair on the king-size bed. The hair was so long that it was tied up into a loose ponytail so it would not get all tangled up. You could also see that there was a figure sleeping on the bed, and the blanket ascending and descending slightly. 

After the chambermaid opened the curtains, she prepared some clothes and a hot bath. Walking towards the bed, she carefully shook the figure who was sleeping on the bed. 

"Master Rei," she said as she shook the figure firmly but yet still carefully enough not to hurt the person. "Wake up." 

The boy who was called Rei groaned and moved slightly away from the chambermaid's hands. Thinking that it was still too early, Rei continued sleeping, not noticing the chambermaid sigh. Seeing her master hasn't woken up yet, the chambermaid tried to wake Rei up by shaking him again, this time a little harder. 

"Master Rei," she said again. "You have to wake up. Lord Rai and Lady Leila would like to see you right after your bath," 

After hearing his parents' names, Rei Kon shot up like a bullet, clearly rubbing his eyes. He yawned one more time and jumped out of bed to stretch. 

"Tell them I'll be right down," he replied, dismissing the chambermaid. The chambermaid nodded and left the room. 

Rei Kon is the son of King/Lord Rai Kon and Queen/Lady Leila Kon of the southern lands. He has golden orbs of eyes. His raven-hair is soft and shiny that goes up to his knees. Rei is also a neko-jin. Meaning that he has cat features: he can jump off fifty foot walls without hurting himself, when he's mad his eyes turn into slits, and he also has fangs. He has a well built body, yet he also has a slim figure. Sometimes he's mistaken for a girl with his figure and long hair, although he's used to it by now, Rei's still annoyed. 

Rei took off his hair tie that holds his hair into a ponytail. Before taking a bath, he would always brush his hair so after the bath, it would be easy to brush it even though there's still tangles and such. 

After he took his bath, Rei bind his hair with a white hair wrap. He also put a red bandana by his forehead with a ying yang symbol in the middle. He's wearing a white short-sleeved Chinese T-shirt and black baggy pants. He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled with satisfaction. With that he left his bedroom and went to the dining area. 

As he walked down the corridors, he couldn't help but think why would his mother and father would want him this early. He eats his breakfast right after his martial arts training and it's way too early for that. Usually, when his parents want to talk to him, it about—Rei stopped walking and widened his eyes. 

'Oh hell no,' he thought. 'Not again!' 

With that, he started to run until he was in front of a big, brown, oak door. Rei pushed it open and went inside. When he went inside, he could see the table full of breakfast foods lying there. There are also two people, a man and a woman eating at the table. The man has black hair and dark blue eyes, while the woman also have black hair but she has golden orbs of eyes very much like Rei's. 

"Erm…Mother, Father you wanted to see me?" asked Rei as he took a seat right across from his mother. 

Lady Leila smiled. "Oh yes, well Rei, your father and I were having a discussion about your future and we decided that you should be betrothed to someone." 

"Again?" Rei questioned.They've been over this a million times! And of course Rei didn't agreed to any of them because the princesses were either to ditzy or naïve; or maybe they complain too much; or maybe even they only want their riches and the throne! Besides, another reason was because he doesn't swing that way. He doesn't feel attracted to any girl in his whole entire life! And that's saying something. 

"Rei, you're turning 17 in the next three months. We want you to be married by then. Besides it will expand our kingdom too. You could also see that your mother and I aren't getting any younger," his father explained. 

"We're only doing this for your own good, Rei. If this was horrible and wrong, then we wouldn't encourage you to do this," his mother added. 

Rei looked at his parents, and clearly they've thought about this for a very long time. He also noticed that they were right, they wouldn't urge him to do this if it was wrong. But still, he's not ready yet for this kind of responsibilities. Besides he doesn't want an arranged marriage, he wants a marriage with a person who he loves, not with a complete stranger. 

Looking at their son, both Lady Leila and Lord Rai thought that Rei's silence was a yes to the idea. Both of them suddenly had a slight smile on their lips. 

"We'll take your silence as a yes then, son," announced Lord Rai, making Rei widen his eyes. 

"Oh his grandfather will be thrilled!" squealed Lady Leila. "Of course your fiancé _is_ still going to find out like you did." 

"H-h-his?" Rei managed to choke out after his mother and father's statement. 

Lady Leila smiled. "Darling, we've noticed how you react around the ladies when there are dances being held in the kingdom. Don't fret though, we clearly support you all the way." 

Rei blushed slightly and looked at his parents. Both of them have an honest looks in their eyes and a very sincere smile. 

"Since we still have to inform the other kingdom about our response and vice versa, we have an idea that maybe you should write to your fiancé. Also his grandfather will tell him to do the same thing, but we'll let you start it," said Lord Rai. "We'll give you time to write it." 

Rei nodded slightly, grabbed the toast and headed towards the door quite dumbstruck. But before he could leave, he asked, "Umm…who's going to be my fiancé?" 

"Kai. Kai Hiwatari." 

****************************************************** 

Meanwhile, in another kingdom, a boy at the age of 17 walked down to his grandfather's study. He has crimson orbs of eyes, hair with two shades of blue, and has a well built body. His cheeks have blue shark fins, two each on his pale complexion. He's wearing a black muscle tank with a dark blue baggy pants to match, a very white scarf and arm bands. He would always have a dark glare and a scowl on his face 24/7. 

Once he was there, he knocked twice patiently. While he was waiting, he couldn't help but ponder why would his grandfather want to talk to him. He was always busy in his study, doing some ungodly papers and whatnot. 

"Come in," came a muffled reply from inside the study. 

The boy who was called Kai Hiwatari snorted and walked inside the study. Inside, there are a lot of shelves full of books and maps. In the far end of the room, has an arched-shape window the same size as the door (Which is big by the way). Right in front of the window was a desk full of papers, a quill, and a bottle of ink; and right by the desk was a man, who has grey hair and crimson eyes, just like Kai's. 

"The servant said you wanted to talk to me," asked Kai monotonously, not coming _any_ closer than 3 feet to the desk. 

The man who was called Voltaire Hiwatari the King/Lord of the northern lands looked up to where his grandson was. "Ah, yes. You see, I've been noticing that you are old enough to rule our kingdom after me." 

Kai looked (more like glared) at his grandfather with a glint of slight interest in his eyes. 'So, the old man's getting off the throne,' he thought. 'Finally.' 

What Kai means is that, his father: supposedly the ruler right now died during the war. Instead of him being the next ruler, Kai's grandfather came back to the throne to rule again, until Kai's old enough to rule it. 

"Your point?" he drawled. 

"To have the throne, you must marry a someone—" 

"What do you mean _I_ have to marry someone?!" Kai suddenly interrupted. 

Voltaire glared at Kai. "I was going to explain when you rudely interrupted! Anyway, since you obviously can't choose a spouse, so I chose one for you. Luckily enough, there's another kingdom who has an adolescent who needs to have a husband, so I contacted them and we agreed it was best for you two to be engaged. Do you know why I'm doing this, Kai?" 

"To torture me?" Kai sneered menacingly, glaring at his grandfather like there was no tomorrow. 

"No, but to make allies to expand our kingdom. We need them in times like this, Kai, and now I think that we have already found one," his grandfather retorted. 

"So, you're saying that I'm going to _marry_ this…this…stranger?!" Kai practically yelled, surprisingly enough that not the entire kingdom heard it. 

Kai didn't usually believe in the marriage is for two people who are in love thing, much less an arranged one. Besides, he doesn't have a thing for girls, end of story. Even if he does, he wouldn't agree either, because he can rule a kingdom himself, or so he speaks. 'I don't need a _wife_ to help _me_ to rule a kingdom,' he thought, scowling slightly. 

"They are _not_ strangers!" Kai's grandfather said coolly. "While we wait for their answer about them telling their offspring, might I suggest that you get to know you fiancé." 

"And how do I do that?! I don't even know the name of that person," Kai sneered. 

Voltaire glared at him. "Don't be a smart-ass, Kai. You will write a letter to Rei. There, I said the name, Rei Kon. You are now dismissed." 

After his grandfather said that, Kai stormed off the room, slamming the door. As he walked angrily in the corridors, you could hear him mutter incoherent things about this Rei person, cursing now and then, and having to urge to punch someone right in the face. 

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Crystal: oOh…there! I've written the first part!! You might notice that Voltaire is in the story…well I'm going to make him OOC, sooooo he's not going to be a bad guy. But the best part is…NO Boris!!!! Hurrah!!! ***does the happy dance*** 

Tyson: When am I going to be there? 

Crystal: Don't wowwy Tyson! You'll be in the next chapter! ^_^ 

Tyson: OK! 

Crystal: Well, here's me Crystal closing in. Don't forget to R&R!!!! Ja ne!! ^____^ 


	2. Friends, friends, Letter!

**Crystal:** Hello, hello! Here's the next chapter you all been waiting for! ^____^ But first, here's my reply to the reviewers! 

**Coco-bee:** Thanks! =) 

**Shaka Dragomir Noctornus: **Here's another chapter! 

**Legolas19: **Thanks! =) 

**Keisan: **LOL…I know that they don't support them like that a longggg time ago, but hey whatever floats your boat right? Hehe…I like to say that, anyway, thanks for bringing that up! =) 

**Bluumberry:** Hehe…you're the very first person to notice my mistakes. ^_^;; Anyways, thanks for taking your time to help me, as a reward, you get extra candies! ***whispers*** Don't tell Maxie that I got some from his secret stash though; it'll be our little secret, LOL! ^_~ 

**StarryNightObsession: **Don't worry, Kai's the seme and Rei's the uke! LOL, and yeah, those TyKa is really annoying me too, also KaiHilary ***shudders***. Anyways hope you like this chapter! 

**Sarcasmcat: *****blushes slightly*** Umm…I didn't think it was a marvellous start, I thought is was crappy and junk, but otherwise, thanks for taking your time to read and review. =) 

**Crystal: **Well, there you go! As a reward for being good readers _and_ reviewers, free candies for everyone! OoOh…before I forget, I kind of revised some parts of chapter one. Now, here's the next chapter! ^_^ 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Beyblade and its characters! Sigh…I wish I could own Kai and Rei though…maybe Bryan or Tala too… 

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**Breathe – Chapter 2: Friends, friends, and oOh…Letter!**   
  


Kai stormed out into the castle and headed towards the garden. How could his grandfather made a pathetic idea like that?! He, Kai could rule the entire kingdom on his own! He doesn't need a stupid wife nagging him to this, and that. While Kai was busy thinking up reasons on why he doesn't need a wife to rule a kingdom with him, he didn't notice that there is some people joined him in the garden.

"Hellooo…!!! Earth to Kaiii…!!!" A girl with platinum blond hair and dark violet eyes waved her hand in front of Kai's face. 

Kai blinked unexpectedly and heard a boy snicker. He resumed back to scowling and ignored the girl in front of him, and walked towards the concrete bench. 

"Dizzi, I think you scared Kai," replied the boy who has icy blue eyes and flaming red hair. 

The girl who was named Dizzi or Dizzara rolled her eyes and slapped the boy in the head. 

"Youch!" 

"Idiot! If Kai was scared then he would have screamed like a banshee and try to slice us in half with his sword!" 

Before the red headed boy could reply, yet another boy came out from the castle. The boy has navy blue hair and his eyes were also navy blue. He burped loud and patted his stomach while walking towards them. Dizzi cringed her face and waved her hand again. But this time, getting the odour out of the air that the boy just made. 

"Eww…Tyson! Where are your manners?!" scolded Dizzi. 

"Good Morning to you too, Diz, Tala," replied the boy who was name Tyson. 

"Haha…morning to you too, Tyson," answered the red head. 

Meet Tyson Kinomiya, Dizzara (Dizzi) Tokugawa, and Tala Ivanov, Kai's childhood friends. Tyson is the son of the general of Hiwatari kingdom: Yamato Kinomiya. Dizzi is the daughter of one of the king's advisors: Yoshihito Tokugawa, and Tala is the son of another one of the king's advisors: Fabian Ivanov. 

These four teens: Kai, Tyson, Dizzi, and Tala met when they were 5 years old. After Kai's father died in the war (his mother died right after his birth), Kai has been going to the garden ever since. Once when he was there, he saw Tyson, Tala, and Dizzi playing by the pond. Soon enough, Kai found himself playing with them, and with that they became friends. 

Years passed since then, as Kai grew up, he came more quiet, a little distant and anti-social. But even though he's like that now, Kai's still friends with them, now closer that ever. 

"Been stuffing your self with food again, Tyson?" Kai smirked. 

Tyson glared at Kai. When it comes to food, Tyson would always be the first one and the last one sitting on the table. That is how much Tyson loves food, both figuratively and literally. 

"You call that a glare? Hmph…pathetic." Kai continued. 

Tyson looked at Dizzi and Tala. "O-kay, what the hell is going on?! Why is Mr. Grumpy-Pants so pissed off and even if he is, then why is he lashing it out on me?!" 

Dizzi shrugged and walked towards the bench where Kai was sitting and took a seat right beside him. Tala went on his thinking pose and pretended to think. 

"Hmm…let me guess…your grandfather told you about your fiancé, am I right?" 

Kai looked at Tala quite surprisingly, and Kai never gets surprised. But he regained his composure and replaced his surprised look with a 'Go to hell' look. "How the hell did you know that?!" He demanded. 

"Whoa, Kai has a fiancé?" asked Tyson. 

Before Tala could answer, Dizzi started to laugh uncontrollably. The three boys looked at her in confusion (yes, even Kai too). Usually, when Dizzi acts like that, it means that she got hold of some orange juice. Yes, you heard me, orange juice. Dizzi has an affinity for the orange substance. 

"Ermm…Dizzi? Are you ok?" asked Tyson as he took a seat in the grass, in front of the laughing girl. 

"Haha…y-yeah…haha…just p-peachy." Dizzi managed to choke out, while holding her stomach from laughing so hard. 

Kai had enough of this and placed his hands by Dizzi's shoulders, shaking her slightly. "What the hell is so freakin funny?!" 

Dizzi stopped laughing when Kai shook her shoulders, but she gave a goofy grin towards Tala's direction. The red headed boy just raised his eyebrow in complete and utter confusion. Seeing that Tala didn't get what she meant yet, Dizzi's eye started to twitch quite venomously. 

"You don't get it do you?" she asked quietly, looking at Tala who just shook his head. 

Tyson rolled his eyes. "How could he not get that? Diz, you were practically laughing your ass off like some hyena." 

"I'm still waiting for some explanation," Kai gave them a cold glance. 

Dizzi suddenly closed her eyes and started to breathe inhale; exhale. With that, she opened her dark violet eyes and without any warning, she started to yell at Tala. And she could just go on and on, ranting about anything she could think of. 

"Oh, haha…HOW THICK COULD YOU GET?! WE JUST HEARD THE FREAKIN CONVERSATION TWO DAYS AGO AND YOU JUST SUDDENLY FORGOT?! YOU HAVE A VERY BAD MEMORY, MISTER! AND WHAT'S WORSE IS THAT I HAD TO PUT UP WITH YOU AT THE TIME! YOU COULDN'T STOP YOUR FREAKIN LAUGHING AND WE ALMOST GOT CAUGHT BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR LAUGH!" 

Dizzi continued on with her ranting, while Tala just stood there shrinking, and shrinking…. Tyson just watched, wincing slightly at Dizzi's voice, and Kai? Well, he's just sitting there, both arms and legs crossed, and eyes closed. But you could tell –if you know Kai very well, that he's very amused at the sight in front of him. Well after that very painful _lecture_ (well for Tala at least), Dizzi stood up from her seat and stormed off inside the castle leaving the three boys alone. 

"That was…very unexpected, to say at least," said Tyson who his ears are still ringing. 

Tala nodded his head. "I'll say…. Anyway," he turned to Kai. "We –as in Dizzi and I, we found out about your engagement because we were eavesdropping, by accident! We never meant to do that! Cross our hearts and hope to die, I swear on someone's grave! We never, ev-" 

"We get the point already!" yelled Tyson. 

"Oh, ok then good. So yeah, we heard your grandfather and my father and Dizzi's father talking about you're old enough to rule, etc, etc. Oddly enough your grandfather suggested for you to get married! Can you believe it? Your grandfather made the idea!" 

"So, its just Kai's grandfather making the idea, what's so odd about that?" Tyson raised his eyebrow, frowning slightly. 

Tala sweatdropped. Sometimes Tyson could be just so naïve. "What I mean is that sometimes advisors of the kings suggest ideas like that. Besides me picturing Voltaire having an idea like that is so peculiar, don't you think?" 

"Now that you mention it…haha, you're right!" Tyson started snickering. 

"See? I didn't forget what I heard one bit." 

Kai smirked. "Well you have to tell that to Dizzi." 

Tyson stopped his snickering and suddenly had fright in his eyes. "Kai! Are you nuts?! Do you want Tala to die in an early age?!" He suddenly rolled his eyes when Kai smirked and nodded and Tala just glared at Kai. "Ok, scratch that, you might _but_ he doesn't deserve that! You remember what happened the last time! A wrath of a woman is worse than death!" (**AN:** ***whacks Tyson with a frying pan*** **Tyson:** @_@ owies…my head!) 

Kai shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right…for once at least." He received a sloppy glare from Tyson's direction, but Kai just ignored it. "Although here's thing that I don't get. Why would my _grandfather _would make an atrocious idea like that?! I could handle a kingdom just fine! I don't need a stupid wife to nag me all day with _this _and _that_, rambling like a weird banshee! She could even go and work with servants for all I care!" 

Out of nowhere, Tala just laughed…real hard, like Dizzi did. Both Tyson and Kai (yes, him too) looked that the red headed boy in confusion. First it was Dizzi who started to laugh insanely and now Tala as well! Kai couldn't take anymore. One more person laughs and he'll go insane with them! Finally, the red headed boy stopped laughing, although he left a maniac grin in his face. 

"I'll ask again, and this time I want an answer." Kai said in a calm yet deadly voice. "What the fucking hell is so funny?!" (**AN:** ***acts like a 3 year old*** oOh…you said a bad word! Bad, bad, bad! **Kai:** -_-;;) 

Before Tala could answer, something interrupted him yet again. It was Tyson's stomach grumbling to get the attention. His stomach grumbled so loud that you could here it from the other side of the kingdom and back again. The hungry boy just laughed uneasily when the other boys glared at him. 

"What? I'm a growing boy here!" Tyson defended himself. 

"Tyson, you're 16 years old. I'm very positive that you are _not_ a growing boy anymore. I'm even more surprised that you're not getting any fatter the way you eat." Tala stifled a laugh while Tyson just 'hmph'ed and walked back towards the castle. 

Tala turned to Kai. "Now, where was I…oh yeah! The reason I was laughing is because, the person you're marrying is well…she's a he." 

Kai just looked at Tala like the red head grew another head or something. "What do you mean 'she's a he'?" he asked. 

"My friend, what I mean is that you are marrying Rei Kon, the son of Lord Rai and Lady Leila of the southern lands." Tala's maniac grin never left his face when Kai just stood there in shock. 

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**Crystal: **Should I end it here? 

**Random People: **NO!!! ***starts throwing things at Crystal*** 

**Crystal: **Owwies…! ;___; That hurt! Buts, even though all of you are meanies ***points at the Random People***, I'll still continue the chapter. 

**Random People: **YAY!!!!! 

**Crystal: **--;; 

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Just after Rei found out about his engagement, he hardly concentrated about his martial arts training so he decided to abandon that for now. He walked towards the gazebo where his tiger, Driger was taking a catnap. 

Driger is a white tiger with black stripes and silver eyes. I you look at Driger's white and black fur closely, you'll see a tinge of green. Like his master, Driger can turn his eyes into slits when he's mad, and can run very fast without breaking a sweat. 

Rei suddenly sensed that there are people coming towards him and Driger, and he was right. Walking towards the gazebo are three boys. The first boy is tall, has lilac hair and lilac eyes. The second boy is fairly shorter than the first boy, he has a messy blond hair and cheerful skyblue eyes. The third one is probably the smallest one out of the four (including Rei), he has shaggy brown hair that covers most of his eyes, and he wearing glasses too; most of the time he carries a book with him. 

"Hey Bryan, Max, Kenny," Rei smiled as the three boys took a seat inside the gazebo. 

"HEY REI!!!" said Max enthusiastically. 

"Don't mind him. Rei. He just ate something with a lot of sugar that's all." Kenny replied dryly, while Bryan just smirked. 

Meet Rei's childhood friends, Bryan Kusnetzon, Max Mizuhara, and Kenny Minamoto. Bryan is the son of Sergei Kusnetzon: the head of the army of Kon Kingdom. Max is the son of Judy Mizuhara: one of Lady Leila's lady advisors. Last but not the least, Kenny is the son of Ichiro Minamoto: one of Lord Rai's advisors. 

These four boys met when they started their first martial arts training together (yes, even Kenny too. Ironic isn't it?). At first they didn't get along very well. Bryan thought Rei was a girl and took it as an insult right away. For their first week together training, both Rei and Bryan kept on insulting each other, while Max just runs around like a wild monkey, and Kenny is just sitting there, looking all shy. 

Their teacher was so stressed that he gave them a little quest: to find this rare purple flower with pink stripes on it. The four boys reluctantly agreed, but only because they want to prove to the others that they were better than them. So the search began. Time passed and not a single flower in sight. Max and Kenny already gave up searching, but still followed Rei and Bryan around who were still bickering at each other. To make the story short, they did found the flower with pink stripes, but Rei broke his ankle, which led to Bryan helping him until they found the flower. Soon after that, the four boys started to become friends until now. 

"Rei?" asked Kenny, snapping Rei from his deep thought. 

"Huh?" 

"You look like you've met your doom." Bryan looked at him. 

The neko-jin sighed. "You're probably right. I think today is the day that hell froze over." 

"Why?" asked Max curiously, finally having some of the hyper boy's sanity back. 

With that, Rei told them about his engagement to Kai Hiwatari. Rei tried to make it enthusiastic, really he did. But in the end, it turned into dull, boring, and miserable. 

"Wow…poor Rei," Max patted him on the back. 

"And now I have to write him a letter to get to know him better," Rei shuddered at the thought. 

Kenny nodded. "Yeah, too bad we couldn't help though. I mean you're parents probably sent your response to the other kingdom already, not to mention you also have to prepare your vows, the catering, the musicians, the decorations, the guests, the invitations…" 

"Why didn't just say no? I'm sure your parents would understand." Bryan interrupted the brunette. 

"Yeah, I tried. But even if I did say 'no' I'd still have to do it. Besides you didn't see my parents' reactions, their faces were all giddy and happy and stuff." Rei explained while petting Driger making the white tiger purr even though he's asleep. 

"Oh," the rest of the three replied. 

"Well whatever floats your boat," said Bryan. "We'll leave you alone for know so you could get a chance to write to your future husband." With that he left the gazebo smirking triumphantly. 

Rei glared at his back. "Jerk." 

Both Kenny and Max sweatdropped at the sight in front of them. "We'll follow Bryan ok? We'll see you later, Rei," said Kenny leaving the gazebo with Max to catch up with Bryan. 

"SEE YOU LATER REI!!!" yelled Max. 

Rei just sweatdropped and took a piece of paper, a quill, and a bottle of ink from out of nowhere. 'Might as well get over with it,' he thought, sighing slightly. 

About an hour later of letter writing, or in Rei's case pure torture, he finally finished the letter, smiling with satisfaction. He left the gazebo immediately so he could go to where the messengers take their rest. Walking down the grassy area, he read his letter again, and again to check any errors. While reading the letter, Rei accidentally bumped into someone in the corridors. Being the neko-jin he, Rei balanced himself to prevent him from falling, although he didn't get a chance to help the other person from falling down on their butt. 

"I am so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you ok? Hurt? If you are, then tug on my hair really hard. I am so sorry…" Rei rambled with a tone of concern in his voice. Even though Rei can be a kind-hearted boy, he sure can annoy you with his rambles. Usually they last for about a minute, but the last time he rambled it took about half an hour to shut him up. 

"Kon, shut the fuck up," replied the other person who has an oh so familiar lilac hair and not so very warm eyes. 

"BRYAN!!!!!!" Max yelled as he saw Bryan sitting down on his butt looking very irritated. "WHAT IN THE GODDESS' NAME ARE YOU DOING?" he asked curiously. 

"I'm sitting down right here, in the middle of the corridor because I wanted to," Bryan replied sarcastically. "Help me up here, Rei!" 

Rei shook his head and helped Bryan up while Max came running to them like a galloping horse. 

"Are you done writing a letter to your husband?" asked Bryan. 

Rei frowned. "He isn't my husband! Well, not yet anyway…" 

Max looked at the letter in Rei's hands. "Whoa…can me and Bryan read it?" 

"Yeah, sure I guess," answered Rei while handing the letter to them. 

"Whoopie!" yelled Max. 

The three of them kept on walking while Bryan and Max kept on reading the letter. The two of them didn't even notice that they were already at the destination and that also Rei went to talk to one of the messengers. They were almost finished reading it until Rei snatched the letter from their hands. 

"Hey! We aren't done reading yet!" cried Max, while Bryan just started to glare. 

Rei rolled his eyes. "I have to give the letter to the messenger? After all that's why I came here, right?" 

Max just nodded slightly while Bryan turned his glare at the messenger. His glare was so cold and deadly that the poor man almost peed into his pants! Both Rei and Max saw this and the only thing they could do is, sweatdropped. 

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**Crystal: **There! Chapter two is done! Hmm…I hope it's long enough to satisfy you thirsty readers! LOL! Just keep on reviewing and I'll keep on writing ok? 

**Kai:** When is Rei's letter going to be here? 

**Crystal:** ***shrugs*** I dunno, probably in the next chapter, perhaps? Why anxious? 

**Kai: **No… . 

**Crystal: **=DD Anyways, please R&R and I'll see you soon! This is Crystal saying, Kai is obsessed with Rei! 

**Kai: *blushes slightly*** you weren't supposed to say that! You're suppose to say 'Sayonara!', you baka! 

**Crystal: **;__; I'm telling Rei!!! ***leaves*** 

**Kai: **Wha-??HEY COME BACK HERE! ***leaves as well*** 


	3. Rei's Letter and Kai's Response

**Tala: *****coughs*** Due to some unfortunate case, Crystal will not be showing up to the beginning this chapter and the end of this chapter. Although she did left me these papers to read. ***shows a big stack of papers*** Anyways, lets get started shall we?

**Legolas19: **Yay! You reviewed! I'm so very happy! =DD

**Devlinn Reiko-sama: **Of course Bryan's here! Who else I'd pair Tala up with? ***at this point Tala starts to blush*** 

**StarryNightObsesssion: **I'm glad you like how I changed the groups around! =DD And don't worry, Rei's letter is going to be here, and also Kai's too! Although both of them aren't going to be very fond of what they have to say to each other…LOL! 

**Bluumberry: **Hehe…thanks! Hope you like the candies! Maxie found out and almost killed me!! . I bet you Tyson has something to do with that…anyways here's another chapter! ^_^ 

**Shaka Dragomir Noctornus: **Of course they're in the story! Especially Tala and Bryan! Heehee, they're two of my favourites besides Kai and Rei! ***huggles Tala and Bryan*** 

**Tariki Rania: **^_^;; Umm…about the question, Kai was already bi. It says so on chapter one. Hehe…yup. Anyways, here's another chapter! ^_^ 

FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high: Hope you like this chapter! =) 

**Keisan: **Heehee…yeah, I put Bryan and Rei in there as friends. Makes the story more _interesting _no? LOL, and thanks for mentioning the grammatical point thingy…I'll watch out for that now. As a reward, here's some chocolate! Take as many as you like! ***grins sheepishly***

**Raven-Fielding: **Here's another chapter! ^_^

**Driger&Dragoon: **LOL, Kai really got busted, haha…although I don't why, LOL! Erm…I hope Dranzer didn't hit you that hard…hehe. ^_^;;

**Akata Chocolate*Silver.S: **LOL! Here…don't be so desperate, hehe, another chapter just for all of you reviewers! ^_^ You can keep the cookies as well, just the happy look on your faces makes, me a happy girl!

**Reki Onizuka: **Thanks! Hope you like this chapter!

**Rena Star: **Thanks! ^_^

**Tala: **Now that is over with, Crystal also wanted me to give all of you readers and reviewers a little treat. ***looks for the stash of cookies*** Oh fiddlesticks! Where in the freaking asses' name are they?!

**Tyson: *****burps***

**Tala: **Gah! Kinomiya! Don't tell me you ate them!! ¬_¬

**Tyson: **umm…whoops? ***starts running***

**Tala:** -_-;; Sigh…oh well, are Ian's ice cream good enough for you all? Ah screw that, I'll just give you the blasted ice cream so we can get on with our lives. ***gives the ice cream*** Anyways, Crystal doesn't own Beyblade, or me for that matter.

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Breathe – Chapter 3: Rei's letter and Kai's response 

"Aren't you suppose to write a letter to you fiancé by now?" Tala arched his red eyebrow.

Tala, Dizzi and Kai were at the dojo to practise their sword skills. Dizzi started on the basic methods already while Kai was polishing his silver blade carefully. And Tala is just sitting there doing nothing of some sort. Tyson? Well he was nowhere to be seen actually.

It has been two days since Kai found out about his fiancé. As you probably know, when Tala dropped that information to him, Kai just stood there in shock, and let me tell you the great; arrogant Kai Hiwatari doesn't get shock. Although he did felt shocked, he also felt pissed and surprised. Pissed because for one, he didn't like being controlled by other people, and certainly the crimson-eyed boy doesn't like people that keep something from him (even though he doesn't like half the people in the kingdom). Surprised because, for one thing he thought that he would me marrying a girl, but nonetheless he would still say no to the arrangement and made a vow that he would hate his fiancé from now until the end of the eternity.

Kai just glared at Tala and ignored the red head.

"Where's Tyson? Doesn't he know that we have training today?" Dizzi asked suddenly, slicing the air in half.

Tala rolled his eyes. "Of course he knows we have training. That's why he's skiving off! I bet you he's in the kitchens right now stuffing his face off with god knows what."

Speak of the devil, Tyson Kinomiya entered the dojo running like someone stole his food away.

"Kai!" he stopped right in front Kai, gasping for air. The crimson-eyed boy just grunted and kept on polishing the sword, ignoring the boy.

Dizzi stopped her sword techniques and looked at Tyson. "What's wrong? What are you holding?"

Tyson just handed the parchment to the dark violet eyed girl and took a sit right beside Tala. The girl just looked at the piece of parchment confusingly, but nonetheless shrugged and read who the letter was from. As she read the paper, Dizzi's eyes started to widen every second. She stole a look from Kai, and then stared at the letter, she looked at Kai again and then at the letter. Dizzi did this a few more times and suddenly squealed happily. She started to jump around Kai like a 3 year old.

"I think Dizzi has finally turned insane," Tyson whispered to Tala.

The red head just shrugged. "Somehow, I don't think so." Tala turned to Dizzi. "Who's the letter from, Tokugawa?"

"Don't call me that! It makes me sound old," Dizzi replied with a shudder. "Anyway, the letter is from…"

Tala leaned from where he was sitting so he can hear Dizzi, while Tyson just kept a secretive smile. Kai looked at the bluenette suspiciously. He knows that Tyson is keeping something from them, not that he cared or anything, he's in a very bad mood…point to the obvious.

"From…" Dizzi continued making Tala leaned more to her direction.

"Just yell it out already, woman!" Tyson cried. "At this rate, by the time you say who's it from, Kai's already married and has kids!" To prove his point, he imitated Kai holding a sword feeling all high and mighty, and then cradling a pretend baby into his arms. Kai being the irritated person that he is; took Tyson by the collar and threw him to the other side of the dojo.

"Oh fine, the letter is from…Kai's fiancé!" Dizzi announced while doing a twirl.

When Kai heard this, he choked on his own saliva and dropped the katana that he was holding, almost slicing his right foot in half. Tala looked very amused at the sight and stifled a laugh. Tyson is still all the way to the other side of the dojo with swirls in his eyes. After almost slicing his foot in half, Kai went over to where Dizzi is trying to open the letter; he grabbed the parchment and stormed off the dojo leaving the three of them all alone.

"Oww…my head!" Tyson finally regained consciousness and sat up rubbing his head slightly. "Hey where'd Mister Grumpy-Pants gone off to?"

Dizzi sat down on the floor and sighed. "He snatched the letter! And I was so going to open and read it! It's so not fair!"

Before Tala could share his opinion to everyone, Tyson snickered aloud out of maybe the bump on his head caused him to loose his sanity or maybe he was just born that way. Both Tala and Dizzi looked at the bluenette in confusion, thinking that maybe he just ate the wrong thing or maybe our very own theory.

Tyson noticed the look that the two that are giving him and soon he stopped on laughing. "Hey! Stop looking at me like that! The reason that I'm laughing is because…well…I read the letter!"

Dizzi looked at Tyson surprisingly. "You did what?! Are you crazy?! Do you want a death sentence or something?! What if Lord Hiwatari saw you reading that, huh?! You'll be in big shit and what's worse is that they'll hang you! And let me tell you this buster, I do _not_ want any of my best friends be hanged because of some stupid, id-"

"Glad to know you're worried Diz," interrupted Tala nonchalantly, and turned towards Tyson. "How did you managed to read the letter without getting caught?"

Tyson gave Tala a triumphant grin and said, "Actually, Kai's grandfather told me to read the parchment! Isn't that weird or what?"

"Sure…anyways so what did the letter say?" Tala grinned while Dizzi just rolled her eyes while Tyson was telling them about the letter.

**************************************************

Meanwhile…in the same kingdom, Kai Hiwatari walked in towards his chambers, feeling pissed and well…pissed. He had to make sure that no one and he means no one has to read the letter but him. The crimson-eyed boy sat by the cushioned chair, looking at the letter in pure disgust. A part of him wants to rip the letter in half and incinerate it until it's the ashes of the ashes of the ashes of the-, ah you now what I mean; but a part of him wants to read it out of curiosity. Kai was so deep in thought that he didn't notice his pet phoenix Dranzer came inside from the open window.

Dranzer has very beautiful shade of red and gold feathers and very powerful talons that can slice through every flesh she can eat. Her eyes always have a very piercing look that can intimidate every person she meets, except for her master Kai and his friends of course.

The phoenix looked at her master in a slight confusion, until she gave a small cry to get Kai's attention. Kai blinked and came out from his deep thought and stared at Dranzer, who was perched on the cabinet where Kai puts his katana in.

Kai smirked. "Back from your hunt already?"

Dranzer just squawked with affection, meaning 'yes'. Kai just shrug and turned his attention back at the letter. 'Should I read it or incinerate it?' he thought. 'Sigh, decisions, decisions.'

"Hey Dranzer, should I read this or incinerate it?" Kai asked his fateful companion. Kai received Dranzer from his father when he was young, and they've been together through thick and thin.

The red phoenix looked at the letter in curiosity when Kai held it up so she could see it properly. After Dranzer got a chance to look, she gave a cry of approval meaning that Kai should read the letter.

Kai just shrugged and said, "If you say so." He looked at the letter and opened it distastefully. When he opened the parchment, he noticed that the letter was quite long; nonetheless the crimson-eyed boy read it reluctantly.

_To: Kai Hiwatari, _

_ You might not know me, hell I don't even know if you want to, but my name is Rei Kon, but you probably already knew that. _

_ I don't know why I wanted to write to you in the first place, but I guess I must love my parents so much to this. Anyway, first things first: I did NOT come up with the idea of us getting married. Maybe you had the idea but I can definitely guarantee that it was not I, understood? And second thing, if I had this ridiculous _idea_, then I would probably say 'I love you so much Kai Hiwatari!' in the letter you'd have to incinerate the whole palace. _

_ Now that I've explained what I have to say, that's been in my gut ever since I was born, note to the sarcasm…I guess we should know each other right? So yeah, I'll start first since I'm the brave one out of the two of us to start this letter. Ok, I'm Rei Kon, as you probably know by now. I will turn 17 in the next…three months, which is really bad. But getting to the point, my parents are Lord Rai and Lady Leila of the southern lands, which always have a very warm climate and very nice sunshine than where you live. Before I forget to mention this, I am a neko-jin, meaning that I have cat features. So if you make me mad, pissed, angry, or whatever –which I hardly do, my eyes turn into slits and I growl rather animalistic in fact. Believe me, you do _not_ want to learn it the hard way like my friend did. _

_ Speaking of friends, I guess I should tell you about my best friends: Max Mizuhara, Bryan Kusnetzon, and Kenny Minamoto. Ok, the first one is Bryan. He's the arrogant, son of the bitch kind of guy. He insults most of the servants who gets in his way, although he apologizes if his parents, Max's parents, Kenny's parents or even my parents are around, bless him…note to the sarcasm again. Next is Max; he's the complete opposite of Bryan. Although be very afraid if you meet Max. He can be very hyper, no wait, he's always hyper so be very afraid! Haha…ahem, last but certainly not the least, we have Kenny! Out of all of us friends, he's the shyest one; not very out going like Max, yet not very mean like Bryan. He's like a ying yang symbol right? _

_ Well I guess that's about me, mmm…mostly anyway. Oh, just in case you haven't gotten my message through your thick head: I DID NOT HAD THE IDEA OF US GETTING MARRIED AND I NEVER, EVER WILL! However, we could be friends if that's ok with you. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Rei Kon _

After reading the letter, Kai's eye was twitching maniacally. Sensing that her master's going to blow any minute, Dranzer flew right out the window so she won't face the wrath of Kai. 'How dare that Kon thinks he is?' he thought angrily. Surprisingly, Kai hasn't killed or destroyed anything; instead he started to write his response to the neko-jin.

Kai spent an hour writing the letter, and now he's finished. He left his chambers and headed to the messenger's place.

***********************************************************************

"Wow…are you really that anxious, worried or whatever if your fiancé received your love letter?" asked Bryan.

Bryan, Kenny, Max, and Rei were in the library spending their free time reading books and maps. It was a total boredom to Bryan that he fell asleep in an instant when they came in the library. Kenny was ecstatic and started to choose a book, although he read the entire books, for 10 times in a row. Max is just being himself, eating some toffee and candy apples. And last but not the least, Rei. The neko-jin just stared at the arch-shaped window, pretending to read.

"No, and its not a love letter! If it would be a love letter, then it would have hearts in it, and mushy gushy stuff!" Rei retorted, still looking out the window.

Max sighed. "I have no more sweets…can someone come to the kitchen with me?"

Kenny was too engrossed reading a book to reply so instead Bryan said, "No, that's the last time you eat sweets. The cooks are very pissed off at you, Max. Arghh…they keep on complaining and complaining like they own the place!"

The blond's clear blue eyes widened. "What?! But I need sweets! I want desserts!"

Before Bryan could retort back, someone knocked on the door twice, making the lilac haired boy irritated.

"Come in, the door's open," replied Rei.

The door opened and a chambermaid came inside the library very nervously, maybe because she has a small infatuation to our very own boys, or maybe because Bryan was giving her the glare. Anyway, Rei noticed that she's holding something that looks like a letter.

"Say, what are you holding?" asked Rei curiously.

The chambermaid blushed slightly and said, "Umm…one of the messengers told me to give this to you, and he thinks that the letter came from the Hiwatari kingdom."

When Rei heard this, his golden eyes widened and nodded slightly. He motioned the chambermaid to put the letter by the desk next to him, which the chambermaid obeyed and left the room when Rei dismissed her.

"I wonder what the letter says," Rei picked up the letter and examined it. Surely enough, it was from the Hiwatari kingdom, and its addressed to him.

Bryan rolled his eyes. "Obviously its for you, so are you going to open it or not?"

Rei just glared at him but opened the letter anyway.

_To: Rei Kon, _

_ So, you're Rei Kon huh? Well, you're right about me not caring about who you are because you're a no body. Anyway, since I'm writing a damn, blasted letter might as well introduce myself. I am Kai Hiwatari of the northern lands. _

_ Now, lets get to the point shall we? Ok, first: How dare you think that I made up this pathetic idea hm? Because I can tell you, that if I would have an idea like this then I would probably be in hell right now. And secondly: As much as I hate to do this, the only reason that I'm going to marry you, is because I only want the throne. I could care less if you hang out with servants, serfs, or even peasants for that matter! _

_ Since, I've made my point, I guess I would tell a little about myself. As you can see, I am Kai Hiwatari. I am 17 years old, which means that I'm older than you…haha…sucker. Anyway, I have nothing to say about me now…except by the fact that _

_I could care less if I made you pissed off or whatever, because I don't give a damn. I would also say that your friend is a pathetic fool, since he's wasting his time hanging around with you. _

_ Speaking of friends, surprisingly I do have friends myself. How ironic eh? Anyway, their names are Tala Ivanov, Tyson Kinomiya, and Dizzara (Dizzi) Tokugawa. They're not pathetic at all since; they're the only ones that my stomach can tolerate. Well, except when Kinomiya stuffs his face with god knows what. _

_ Well, I'm going to end my letter right here. I hope you had fun reading them, although I didn't have fun writing them. Oh, and by the way, I don't have a thick head, maybe you do since made a misunderstanding. Have a nice day…haha yeah right. _

_ Kai Hiwatari _

"Wow…that's very harsh," Max was the first one to break the tension.

The three of them looked at Rei. To tell you the truth, Rei was very shocked at the piece of parchment he's holding. He wrote the letter with politeness, unlike this letter. Rei tried to be nice and his reward was a rude comment? Yes, this shocked the neko-jin very much. He was about to reply when the door suddenly opened.

"Ah, Rei you're here," replied one of the king's advisors (not Max's mom or Kenny's dad). "Your parents are looking for you, I think its about your engagement to the young Hiwatari."

Rei just nodded dully and walked towards the door. He didn't realized that Bryan, Max and Kenny were following him with the advisor until Bryan scared him.

"BOO!"

"Aahh! What the hell, Bryan?! Are you trying to kill me out of fear?! If you are then you're doing a great job of it!" yelled Rei.

"Geez, sorry," muttered Bryan, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

They walked a little bit more, until they were in front of a big oak door. The advisor knocked politely and until a muffled voice from the inside told them to come in.

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**Tala: **There, the third chapter is finished. Whew…Crystal owes me a lot for helping her. Hmm…Rei's part is a little bit short, no? Well anyway, on behalf of Crystal…you have to forgive her for that since she's kind of have this writer's block…and it's pissing her off quite a lot actually. So yeah…anyways, this is Tala saying Good-bye and see you all next time. Oh, and before I forget, please R&R!!


	4. Keep those letters coming they're on a r...

**Crystal: **Heylo!!!! Hehe... I'm so happy you guys! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! ^_^ 

**Tala: *frowns slightly* **Hey, what about me? Don't you have something to say to me as well? 

**Crystal: **Oh yes…Thanks so much for helping me, Tala-kun! I don't know what I'd do without you! ***hugs and kisses Tala in the cheek*** 

**Tala: *smirks*** Too right, haha…too right. 

**Crystal: *rolls her eyes*** Ok, ok, you don't have to rub it in. Anyway, here are some of my responses to the reviewers! 

**Devlinn Reiko-sama: **LOL! Glad you like the letters! ^_^ 

**Bluumberry: **Haha…yeah Kai's being a total bitch to Rei. Poor Rei-chan. ***pats Rei on the head*** Anyway, mm…your guess is quite close, although I don't think Kai would gawk at Rei…well not yet at least. =D 

**StarryNightObsession: **Haha…yup Kai's rude in that chapter. Oh, and your guess is right! ^_^ Have a Rei plushie! ***hands her an exact replica of Rei*** And yes, I'm taking this relationship slow…'cuz it'd be too weird if they start to like each other right away, although maybe I'll drop a few hints, here and there. =D 

**SilverNcold1: **Lol…yes…Kai's so mean, thought he won't be in the next chapters. Muahaha…!!! 

**CRaZy NeK0-JiN: **Thanks! ^_^ 

**Platinum Rei: **LOL, Kai won't be a jerk…in the future chapters. 

**Enelya Aldarion: **Yes, I made Dizzi a person. =D And yes, Tala and Bryan are paired up here. ^_^ That's Tala's reward for helping me! 

**White Spirit Angel: **They will fall for each other…very soon. I still don't know who confesses first though. ^_^;; 

**Bebe macy: **LOL, thanks! ^_^ Oh and Macy, I prefer Crystal or Crystalinne. Hehe…you forgot! I'm really insulted! Hehe…just kidding!! =P 

**SoulSister: **Yes…Kai did become mean at a short space of time…LOL. Anyways, I'm glad you find it amusing!^_^ 

**Legolas19: **Thanks! ^_^ 

**Keisan: **Yeah…both letters were rude and uncouth in a way, LOL. And yes…it's the usual pairings! I'm really used to them, and I like how they're together and stuff, so yeah! And yes…agree to your feeling because were going on the same path here, not quite what I had in mind though, but still close enough, LOL! ^_^ 

**Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus: **Yes, yes…Kai's definitely a BIG meany…sigh…he should be disciplined for his actions. =D 

**FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high: **Don't worry, I'll read your story! ^_^ Anyways, here's the next chapter! 

**Crystal: **There! All done! ^_^ As a reward to all of you people out there, free pictures of any bishounen you like! ***hands out the pictures*** 

**Tala: **Am I in there as well? 

**Crystal: **-_-## I _did_ say EVERY, or ANY bishounen right? 

**Tala:** ^_^;; Oh, yeah right…hehe I knew that. 

**Crystal: **Riggghhhhttt…anyway, I'm sort of tired of writing the Disclaimers and whatnot so just please look at the very first chapter if you want to see the Disclaimer, thank you! =) Now, on to the story!! 

******************************************************************************* 

**Breathe – Chapter 4: Keep those letters coming; they're on a roll right now! **

The advisor opened the door as the muffled answer told them to come in. Rei, Bryan, Max and Kenny went inside to see Lord Rai sitting by his working desk, while Lady Leila was standing right behind him. Judy Mizuhara is also there standing right beside Ichiro Minamoto. All of them are holding quite happy, secretive smiles that make Rei very suspicious. 

"Err…one of the advisors told me that you wanted to talk to me?" asked Rei while taking a seat to a cushioned chair in front of the desk. 

Lady Leila kept smiling happily. "Oh, yes. I just heard from one of the messengers that you received a letter from the young Hiwatari. So what did the le-" 

The queen was cut off by Rei's sudden outburst. "He has bad manners and he's also not a very polite gentleman either!" 

Lord Rai burrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean, son?" 

"What I mean is, Father, I tried to be polite to him and all he did was give rude and uncouth comments!" 

"Oh, Rei," his mother sighed. "Maybe the poor boy was just shy, that's all." 

Hearing Lady Leila's comment, Bryan snorted under his breath and muttered something incoherent about Kai being a 'shy boy' making Kenny's dad look at him sternly and sharply. Kenny just sweatdropped at the queen's happy, naïve aura, while Max just stood there fiddling with his fingers, trying no to yell that he needed sweets…badly. And, if you look close at Rei, you could see his right eye twitching every once and a while. 

"Shy? But, Mother…he called Bryan a pathetic fool! He also called me thick headed! I don't think that is shy at all!" cried Rei. 

Lord Rai and Lady Leila sighed slightly. They don't know what's going on, but they have to continue on with this arrangement. They already told the other kingdom about Rei's reluctant agreement and now they're planning for their needed supplies and necessities for the wedding. They were also planning to make the two boys meet, and they're still looking for the right date to set that up. So many things to do and so little time, both kingdoms agreed that the wedding would take place at Rei's 17th birthday…which is three months away by the looks of it. 

"I'm sorry, Rei," Lady Leila apologized. "But I'm afraid that I'm still sticking to my theory. Young Hiwatari's just shy that's all. Besides, you will meet him very soon…although I'm not sure when, but in the mean time, you still have to right letters to each other. I promise, sweetie, this will be all over soon." 

Rei sighed inwardly. This is it, there's no point of pleading his parents to cancel the arrangement. Both of them seemed happy and content, and he didn't want to ruin it because of his selfish reasons. Instead of glaring at them, or talk back at them, Rei just smiled grimly to his parents. 

"It's alright I guess," he mumbled quietly, making his friends surprised. "May I please be excused?" 

Lady Leila nodded and watched Rei walk out the door. After hearing the door close and footsteps from the outside fade, Lord Rai looked at Rei's friend's way. Bryan, Max and Kenny still has their surprised looks on their faces, making the king look at them with such amusement. 

"Now that our little neko-jin is gone, let's get to business shall we?" Lord Rai gave them a secretive smile. 

Kenny looked at them with great confusion written in his face. "What do you mean, your highness?" 

Ichiro looked at his son, having a grin like the king's and said, "It means, that only you three have something to do with this." 

"Don't worry, you three aren't in any trouble, unless you are and we don't know about it?" Judy added, looking at the three boys suspiciously. 

"NO!" the three said quickly. Not wanting any conversations about getting into trouble or even the word trouble. 

The four adults chuckled quietly while the boys just flushed from embarrassment. 

"Anyway, the reason you were sent here, is because our discussion right now is about Rei," continued Lady Leila. "I know, or to be exact, we know that you're Rei's best friends and he tells you everything. We just wanted you to know that; we want you to encourage him about his engagement. It's a very good opportunity for him, I'm sure you all understand." 

The three boys looked at Lady Leila's face. It showed great concern about her son so much. Lord Rai looked at them with a slight nervousness in his eyes. These three boys that are standing in right in front of them are the ones that Rei trusts the most…besides his parents, and the advisors. In return, they also trust Rei and their loyalties ties with him. If they agree with Rei about the engagement, then it would be very hard to convince them to encourage the raven-haired boy. 

"We do understand," replied Bryan after that great deal of silence. "But you _do_ know where our loyalties lie the most, right?" 

Both Lord Rai and Lady Leila nodded their head solemnly. "Yes we know that, but just please agree with for this." 

"Can I get more sweets if we help?" asked Max hopefully, making Bryan slap his own forehead. 

Lady Leila giggled slightly. "You're free to take as many sweets as you like, even though if you say no or yes. Why are you asking us that?" 

The poor blond just frowned in confusion. "But, Bryan said tha—" 

"NO more coffee for you today, Maxie." Bryan clamped his hand over Max's mouth before the blond could speak anymore. 

Before the adults could ask what Bryan said to Max, Kenny said that the three of them would do it, making the other two look at him with their mouths open (though Max's mouth was still covered by Bryan's hand) in shock. 

"WHAT?" 

"Well, think about it, sooner or later when they meet, they have to fall for each other right? Besides Rei deserves this, a LOT." Kenny explained. "Also, its already too late since I've probably assumed that the other kingdom has everything prepared like us." 

Lord Rai gave Kenny a look of gratitude and gave Kenny's dad a look of great impression. "I'm very impressed of your son Ichiro, he will be a very fine advisor just like you are now." 

Hearing this, Kenny blushed slightly bowing his head so that no one could see it. "Th-thank you, your highness." 

Lady Leila stared at the other two, finally Bryan taking his hand off Max's mouth. "So, you would go along with this?" 

Max nodded enthusiastically and yelled 'SURE!' while Bryan just nodded seriously with a very small smile etched on his face. "You can count on us. Although, I still don't know why…but sure I guess." 

With that, Max, Kenny, and Bryan were dismissed finally breathing properly and thinking that they have to do this for their neko-jin friend. 

"Does Rei has the letter?" asked Kenny. 

"Umm…why you ask?" asked Max curiously, tilting his head like a small child would do. 

Kenny explained that if Rei has the letter…then he would rip it apart and feed it to the goats and cows. Suddenly, both boys paled, imagining a very pissed off Rei destroying the letter, cackling like a witch. Seeing the two, Bryan just sighed and smacked them at the back of their heads. 

"Idiots, I have the letter," Bryan smirked, showing them the piece of parchment. "You actually think that I would allow Rei obliterate his fiancé's letter?" 

**************************************************** 

Meanwhile, Rei was pacing back and forth in the bedroom, making Driger look at him back and forth as well. The poor neko-jin just couldn't help but wonder why would Kai be so cold hearted and a bastard. Sure his own letter was quite rude, but still…he's very much disagreed to every little thing about the idea. The raven-haired boy even asked if they could be friends! Shaking his head, Rei finally decided that he regretted to ask that question to the other boy and also that this Kai person should be remorse of his actions because he's not going to know what hit him. 

'We'll see, he shouldn't be messing with Rei Kon,' thought the neko-jin, smiling humourlessly. 'He'll never know what hit him, ha, damn right!' 

After that thought, Rei went to the small desk where a piece of paper, a quill and an ink bottle lay. He sat down by the wooded chair and started to reply back at the letter. Until he noticed that the letter wasn't in his possession right now. Rei started to search everywhere in his chambers. 

"Driger," asked Rei, making the tiger look at him. "When I came in here, did you see me holding a letter?" 

Listening to his master, Driger shook his furry head and went back to his catnap. Rei sighed and thought where else would he put the letter. He pondered where he went today when he got the letter. Suddenly, something clicked and the raven-haired boy remembered that he received the letter from one of the chambermaids in the library. With that, he left his chambers and went directly to the library. On the way, he saw his friends walking his way. 

"HEY REI!" Max waved his arms so hard that he was smacking both Bryan and Kenny (Max was in the middle). 

"Ow, Mizuhara! Stop that!" Bryan growled, annoyed because of the smacking. 

Rei just sweatdropped at the sight and greeted them, stifling a laugh. "Hey you guys. Oh, I was wondering…did you happen to have the letter when we left the library like half an hour ago?" 

The other three looked at each other nervously with the same thoughts running through their heads. 'What if he obliterates it?' 

"Umm…why do you need it Rei?" squeaked Max. 

Rei looked at his friends suspiciously. "I need it because I'm going to reply back to my _fiancé _now?" The raven-haired boy emphasized the word fiancé so that it would mean that he's disgusted by the word. 

"Oh," Kenny replied, laughing nervously. "Hehe…ok then, Rei. Can we come with you?" 

Rei just nodded and shrug, and motioned the three to follow them in his chambers. The others just walked silently behind him, making the neko-jin more suspicious. Usually, when they walk to the corridors, Max would keep on singing these songs, while Bryan would just tell him to shut up and Kenny would just keep on blabbering about anything to him. They finally got to the chambers and went inside. The three saw Driger sleeping in the bed purring and sat by the edge of it. 

"So, what did you guys do when I left Father's study?" asked Rei while sitting back at the wooded chair by the desk. 

'Oh no!' "Ermm…well, Bryan got into…uh...trouble- yeah! He got into trouble…" Kenny felt Bryan giving him death glare. 

"Yeah! Bryan got into trouble, because he set the…uh…oh! He set the stables on fire…" Max trailed off; smacking himself mentally for thinking how could Bryan set the stables on fire. 

Rei frowned. Since when did Bryan set something on fire? Besides wouldn't he have noticed the smoke ascending up the sky? Almost reading his mind, Bryan punched Max on the arm rather too hard and glared at Kenny. 

"It's not the stables you idiots! And I didn't set fire to ANYTHING! I just threw tomatoes to the cooks in kitchens that's all." Bryan explained, although he knew that the neko-jin wasn't convinced. He was right, Rei is still doubtful about his "mischievousness" but didn't push on the subject so the three were glad. 

"Right…" said Rei. "Anyway, as usual, Bryan's being an ass, but lets drop off the subject." He took a deep breath and said, "I don't believe that Hiwatari guy! I tried to be nice to him and all he does is bitch at me!" 

"And I don't think he's being shy too," Max added his two cents in. "I mean, for one thing he called Bryan a pathetic fool, and Bryan usually does the insulting." 

Bryan growled. "That's because he doesn't know who I am, and let me tell you this: if he did know me, then he would wish that he was never been born!" 

Rei rolled his eyes. "Ok…" 

"Since your going to be busy and all, we'll just leave you to write the letter ok, Rei?" said Kenny. 

"YEAH! Think really, really, really, hard about what you're going to say to him!" Max gave a slight wink at Rei. Bryan just smirked and left the room with Kenny and Max in tow. 

Rei shook his head and chuckled silently. 'Let the writing of the letters begin!' 

************************************************ 

At the Hiwatari kingdom, things are really getting out of hand. Kai found out that Tyson read the letter that was suppose to be only his and sent the poor boy to the infirmary. The stoic boy almost killed Tala and Dizzi as well, although not as much when he beat the crap out of Tyson. 

"You know…you never showed us the letter you wrote to Rei," Dizzi said to Kai, frowning slightly. "Why is that?" 

Kai ignored the girl and just gave her a death glare, which she was immune to. Tala just chuckled with amusement. They were outside near the lake where Dizzi and Tala were skipping rocks to see which rocks skips longer, while Kai just leaned into one of the trees with his arms crossed and crimson eyes closed. Tyson is still in the infirmary, being treated by the healers. According to them, Tyson has a black eye on both eyes, he has a broken left ankle, and his right arm is twisted. Because of Tyson's injuries, Kai of course got into trouble. Heir or no heir, it was still mean and harsh, so Kai's consequences are one: he would be a little more nicer to Tyson (since Kai's least favourite out his friends is him), and two: when he meets his fiancé, he would be nice to him and introduce him to his friends. 

"Diz, unless you want your ribs all scrambled up, don't talk to Mr. Stupidity over there. Besides, who knows…maybe Rei wrote back then we could read it, instead of Tyson." The red headed boy gave a lop-sided grin. 

Dizzi sighed. "I wonder when we would meet him. I heard that Lord Hiwatari and the other kingdom are still looking for the right date for them to meet." 

"Yeah, that's what I heard too." Tala held his chin up with his index finger and thumb. "Maybe, they'll come here to the pala—" 

"WOULD YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT THAT STUPID ENGAGEMENT!" Kai has finally lost it. One more word about that engagement crap, and he would explode! Even inside the castle, servants, cooks, chambermaids, messengers, EVERYONE! They keep on talking about the wedding! 

Dizzi walked over to Kai and said, "Ok, Kai, take a deep breath, that's it. Inhale, exhale, inhale, and exhale." Kai did what Dizzi told him to do, it worked a little bit although…his eyes still has that looks that could kill someone in a nanosecond. 

"How about going back to the castle? It's almost dinner time anyway," suggested Tala. 

Dizzi agreed and started to walk right beside Tala, while Kai just grunted and walked behind the other two. While walking, Tala looked over to his shoulder to see Kai was lost to his thoughts. Seeing this opportunity, the icy, blue-eyed boy engaged the dark violet-eyed girl into a conversation. 

"Do you think that when we arrive at the castle, we'll get a letter from Rei now?" asked Tala, whispering so Kai couldn't here what he was saying. 

Dizzi shrugged. "Who knows? Besides, I've heard that our kingdom and the other kingdom are planning that both Kai and Rei should meet at this small castle that our kingdom built. I'm not sure about the exact location though…" 

Tala's eyes twinkled oh so suddenly. "Really now…I never knew that." 

Before Dizzi could continue, the three saw the castle entrance already and on the entrance stood a messenger. Not any messenger from their kingdom, but a messenger from the Kon Kingdom. He was just standing there, eyes shifting from one place to another like someone is watching him. But who wouldn't? It's almost dark and there could be people lurking around… 

"Erm…are you the Young Hiwatari of the northern lands?" asked the messenger to Kai. 

The slate-haired boy just grunted and nodded slightly, while Tala said, "Yeah he is. Though there's no use giving him letters and such, because he just incinerates them right away, so might as well give it to either one us." He gave look to Dizzi's way and then pointed to himself. Dizzi knew what Tala meant and nodded encouraging at the messenger to give the letter to one of them. 

The messenger thought about it for a moment and then reluctantly handed the letter to the red headed boy. Seeing that sadistic smile from Tala's face, Kai suddenly snatched the letter away from the messenger and stormed off inside the castle leaving a petrified messenger, a weirdo, hyper Dizzi, and a sadistic Tala by the entrance. 

"Wow…that worked well," Kai heard Dizzi tell Tala who just chuckled. The crimson-eyed boy just scoffed and continued to walk through the castle. He couldn't help but look at the letter, smirking slightly. Not only that Rei's thick headed, he also doesn't get it when he's not wanted. He opened the letter to read it then incinerate it like what he did to the other letter…if he could find the first one at least. Anyway, Kai opened the letter and started to read. 

_To Kai Hiwatari: _

_ You call yourself royalty! Well, guess what, you don't look like one! For one thing, you're like a hungry power maniac that kills dreams of people! Hmm…don't know how that came out. Anyway, another thing is that: you should BE in HELL right now for your actions! Arghh…I don't even know why or how you became the Heir of your kingdom in the first place! _

_ You know, I never get pissed off at ANYONE (point to the obvious on my first letter). But right now, I think I'll make an exception. I've tried to be nice to you and all you do is talk trash! Well guess what? You're over the line, mister! I swear to all of the gods from above, when I see you, I'll skin you alive! And I mean that literally and figuratively! I've warned you about my temper, and I don't want ANYONE to get hurt just because of my stupid temper, but guess what? If there are ANY people that got hurt because of it, it'll be YOUR fault! You son of a— _

_ Sigh…I guess I'll leave it here. But beware Hiwatari: When I see you, you better run and scream like a banshee, because you won't know what's going to hit you. Oh, and before I forget, I don't bite…well not that hard at least. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Rei Kon _

Kai stared at the letter and suddenly out of nowhere, he started to laugh. Even though he hates his _fianc_'s guts, he sure can make him laugh. And he should take that as a compliment, since hardly anything can make Kai laugh like that. Haha…skin him alive my ass. Kai decided that he would keep that letter as a jester prop, so if Tyson would piss him off again, all he would do is take the letter out and read it. But he thought that it would be too selfish if he would leave the letter unanswered, so he went inside the library and got out the writing necessities. Just before he could start writing the letter, the doors of the library slammed open revealing Dizzi, and Tala coming inside the room. 

"Oh! You're writing the letter already?" asked Dizzi, bubbling with excitement. "Your fiancé must have written something that got you all excited." 

Tala laughed. "Since when did Kai get all exci—oww!" Dizzi stomped her foot to Tala's quite hard. 

"I wouldn't finish that question if I were you, Ivanov." 

Kai just ignored the other two and kept on writing. 'He'll never know what hit him…hah, my ass!' 

Dizzi took Rei's letter and started to read. As she read the letter, she started to frown. Finally finishing the letter, the dark violet-eyed girl took a huge, deep breath and smacked Kai by the head, making the poor boy slam his head by the desk. 

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!?!" asked Kai, glaring furiously at Dizzi, while rubbing his forehead because of the impact on the desk. 

"Obviously, the whole thing was entirely your fault." Dizzi just simply said while handing the letter to Tala to see if she was right. 

"What do you mean my fault?!" 

"Well I don't know what he wrote on his letter, or your reply…but I think I'm with Dizzi on this one." Tala told the other two while folding the letter in half and secretly pocketing it into his clothes. 

"Why is that?!" Kai was practically seething with anger, ready to kill someone any second… 

"For one thing, he says that he tried to be nice to you, although all you did was talk back like some kind of macho dude. And secondly, you never know if he's telling the truth if he'll skin you alive or not." Tala explained, while Dizzi is just nodding her head away, agreeing to what Tala has to say. 

"We'll leave you to cool off now, if you need us--not kill, _need_ us, we'll be in the infirmary visiting Tyson." With that, Tala and Dizzi left the library, one with a mischievous smile, and another with a grim expression on their faces. 

"Why are you smiling about, Tala?" asked Dizzi in confusion. 

Tala just kept on grinning and said, "Three, two, one…" 

"TALA!!!! GIVE THAT DAMN LETTER BACK NOW!" 

Tala gave a loud laugh and turned to Dizzi who turned surprised. "That's what I'm smiling about." 

******************************************************************************* 

**Crystal: **Weeee…I'm done chapter 4! ^________________^ 

**Tala: **Haha…Kai being called Mr. Stupidity…now that's hilarious. 

**Crystal: *nods*** Although you're very lucky, Kai came by earlier looking for you. Anyways, I have one question for all of you readers: Which is better: Tala being the seme, and Bryan being the uke; OR Tala being the uke, and Bryan being the seme? 

**Tala: *blushes*** What the heck are you poisoning to your readers heads, Crystalinne?! 

**Crystal: **-_-## I'm not poisoning ANYBODY!! It's just that I can't make up my mind who's going to be the seme and who's going to be the uke, that's all! So, please help me with this and I'll be very grateful! Until next time, this me Crystal and… 

**Tala: **and Tala… 

**Crystal: **Saying good-bye to you all! Please don't forget to R&R and see you next time! ***waves happily*** 


	5. What do you mean I'm meeting him? Part O...

**Crystal: *looks for Tala*** Talaaa…where are you?! 

**Tala: **I'm right here! -_-;; 

**Crystal: **oh…hehe…I knew that…YUP! ^_^;; Anyways, thanks so much for the people who reviewed, or even read! This story is for all of you to enjoy and I'm really, really glad that you all like it! ^_^ 

**Tala: **Umm…Crystal…I think I should probably tell you that Kai is looking for you…with a very, very pissed look… ***sees Kai entering with Rei trying to calm him down*** 

**Crystal: **uh oh…umm…TALACOULDYOUDOTHERESPONSESFORMETHANKS!!! ***runs away*** 

**Tala: **-_-;; Now I get to do all the hard work, sigh…lets get started shall we? 

**Sarcasmcat: **Thanks! =) 

**Kai-lovr: **LOL! Yes…Kai needs to go to anger management classes. Although I think he does…only he skips the classes… ***shakes head disappointedly*** 

**StarryNightObsession: **Yes…Kai seems to be the overprotective one than Rei…and yes, your right again…Rei is wayyyyy to gentle, and loving to be a seme! ^_^ LOL, I _do_ give Maxie sugar…only Kai, Rei and the others hide them… -_-;; And Bryan did burn something once…its quite scary…haha. Oh, cool! You're also Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish? Hehe…you know that Filipino song in my profile? Do you know what it means? ^_^ I'll give you a treat if you know, LOL! 

**Legolas19: **Thanks! =) 

**Enelya Aldarion: **LOL, thanks! I'll think about the Tala/Bryan thing… =) 

**Bluumberry: **Yes…I hate it when they fight too… =( Although, what has to be done, has to be done! Don't worry though…very soon they won't hate each other! ^_^ 

**Platinum Rei: **Lol, thanks! And yes… "You better run and scream like a banshee." Hehe…I don't know how I came up with that… =DD 

**FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high: **Hehe…why do you need to remember the "skinning alive" part when your cousins visit? LOL, are you going to do it to them? ***smirks*** 

**CRaZy NeK0-JiN: **LOL, I agree with you…Rei-chan's too nice to skin anyone…but who knows, maybe he does, haha. ;) 

**Tariki Rania: **I'm glad you like the letters! ^_^ Oh, cool…your relatives set up an arranged marriage too? That never happened to my family…lol wonder how they treat each other… 

**Keisan: **Yeah, Kai got what he deserves…really badly. Rei's really, really nice, ne? LOL, you'll be surprised when they meet. Hmm…maybe I should put a preview thingy…what do you say? How about I give one right after the chapter? ^_^ 

**Iversons Babe: **Yes…thanks I guess. And you're right…I don't like Mariah…she's too pink and preppy-ish! ***shudders*** 

**SoulSister: **Yup, Kai got what he deserved! ^_^ No offense…but I really, really, like Kai but…he was being mean to Rei-chan! . Oh, and Tala as an uke, eh? Hehe…I'll think about it. ***winks*** 

**c0tt0n kand3e: *sniffs*** Aaahhh…why do people keep on forgetting?! It's Crystal! -_-;; Sighh…I guess you're forgiven! ^_^ LOL, its interesting? You really think so? Haha…well, anyway…Thanks! 

**Sexy_Felton: **I'm glad you find it intelligent! ^_^ And you fell in love with my story as well? Hehe…Thanks! Oh, and it's not in my place to tell you what is a beyblade…you have to ask the professional pros! ***looks over where the Bladebreakers are*** 

**Your favouritest cousin =) aka Lourdes: **Haha…thanks! ^_^ Oh, and what you said on msn…I'll just take that as a compliment! ;) 

**Readhair_gal_Gin: **umm…thanks! =) 

**Bebe Macy: **Don't be so down, Macy! And yes…your welcome for your long ass review…LOL! ^_^ 

**Tala: *sighs with relief***There, all done. Since Crystal isn't here to give you ANYTHING, I went to the bakery for a little while…and I bought brownies for each and everyone of you, well like four pieces to a person. Oh, since Crystal isn't here, I'll be nice enough to do the Disclaimer since she's a very lazy ass. 

**Disclaimer: **Crystal doesn't own Beyblade. If Crystal owns it, then hell froze over, Tyson had a diet, Max doesn't like sugar, Kenny threw his laptop away, and Kai became a very nice and considerable person! Since none of those things happened, Crystal doesn't own Beyblade and she never will. 

******************************************************************************* 

**Breathe – Chapter 5: What do you mean I'm meeting him?! Part one **

"REI!!!!!!!!!!" yelled a very hyper voice throughout the corridors. It seems that Max is looking for our neko-jin, it also seems that the blond boy is clutching something in his left hand very tightly. 

Meanwhile, in the library, Rei looks like he's reading a magnificent book for his literature work. Although he looks like he's reading, Rei just keeps on reading the same line over and over and over…until he heard someone yell out his name. The raven-haired boy looked up from the book and cringed his forehead in confusion. Who in their right mind would yell right in the morning?! 

"Rei! There you are!" The library door slammed open and there stood Max, with a very happy smile, and a very optimistic look. 

Rei frowned. "What's wrong Max? Did Kenny get stuck in that small chair again? Did Bryan insulted the chambermaids and now he's being punished?" 

The blond boy just shook his head, still keep on smiling. Instead of answering, he shoved the thing that he was holding to Rei and started to skip towards the red sofa. Rei looked at the item and saw that he was holding the very same parchment from before. 

"Max…" said Rei, while still looking at the parchment. 

"Yeah?" 

"Where did you get this?" Rei held the letter up so his friend could see. 

Max saw the letter and said, "Oh! One of the messengers was looking for you, but you were doing your literature thing, so he gave it to my mother. But then Mother was busy with your wedding and stuff," He saw Rei paled slightly and Max smiled inwardly. "That she told me to send you the letter!" 

Rei just 'oh'ed and went to sit on the wooden chair where he was sitting. He wrote some pretty mean and harsh things on the last letter so he would probably expect some rude words on this one. Unknown to Rei, a pair of jolly, blue eyes were watching him carefully and curiously. Max kept on watching Rei make up his mind whether he should read it or not and just throw is to the nearest fireplace. The blond boy couldn't help but ask if the neko-jin should start reading the letter. After all, he WAS supposed to help Rei look enthusiastic for his special day. 

"Aren't you going to open your letter?" Max asked. 

Rei just shrugged and went back to his studies. "Nah, maybe later I guess. You know I'm not really fond of this situation that I'm in right now." 

Max sighed. Yep, this is going to be hard. He decided that he couldn't do it alone, so he suddenly stood up and walked towards the door. He looked back at his shoulder to see Rei so concentrated on the book, with his forehead burrowing and all. Max left the library and went in search of his other friends, one with the lilac hair and the other one with brown hair. 

Max hummed to himself since the corridors are pretty silent, until he reached a big brown oak door that has a falcon carved in the middle. Rule number one if your going to be friends with Bryan Kuznetson is: if you want to talk to him and he's in his bedroom, knock first! The blue-eyed boy shuddered when he remembered what happened to Kenny when he didn't knock the first time, anyway Max took a deep breath and knocked really loud on the claw shaped knocker thingy… Anyway, he waited for an answer, and surprisingly none came. Once again he tried, but once again nothing came to open the door. Now, he's debating himself whether he should barge in or not… 

'Ah, what the hell,' Max thought. 'I'll just barge in…I'm sure he won't mind…right?' He took another breather and with the count of three, Max pushed the heavy oak doors, and found himself going inside Bryan's humble abode. Seeing that no one was there, Max sighed in relief but realized that Bryan wasn't in his room. Max frowned and left the room thinking that he did all of that for nothing. 

He was walking with his head down low that he didn't realize that someone was also walking towards him, before Max could look up, he collided with someone and fell off his butt. 

"Ouch!" Max said while rubbing his bum slightly. He looked up to see Bryan and a boy with navy blue hair and navy blue eyes right beside his friend. 

"You ok Max?" asked Bryan, with a slight amusement in his eyes. 

Laughing nervously, Max said, "Hehe…yeah, I was looking for you actually. Did you see Kenny? Because I was going to tell you guys something…" He trailed off, staring at the guy right beside Bryan. 

Bryan noticed this and began to smirk. "Oh, how selfish of me. Max this is Kinomiya Tyson from the Hiwatari kingdom. Kinomiya, this is Mizuhara Max, the son of Lady Leila's advisor." 

Max smiled shyly and put his hand out. "Nice to meet you…uh…" 

"Tyson, just call me Tyson," the boy with navy blue hair replied taking Max's hand, shaking it slightly. Both boys suddenly felt a jolt when they shook hands, but they shrugged it off. Max noticed that this Tyson boy didn't let go of his hand yet and flushed slightly. 

Both forgetting that Bryan was still in their presence, the lilac haired one coughed slightly, making the other two startled. Max looked at Bryan with embarrassment and asked, "Where is Kenny by the way?" 

Bryan frowned. "Didn't you know?" 

"Know what?" Max frowned slightly, making Tyson think that it's cute when Max frowns. 

'He's cu—what am I saying?!' the bluenette suddenly thought. 'I just met him for goodness' sakes!' 

While Tyson was scolding himself mentally, Bryan explained to Max that Kenny and his father went to the Hiwatari kingdom, while Tyson and one of Lord Hiwatari's advisors came here to see if everything was going well, like Kenny and his father doing at the other kingdom. 

"Oh," was all Max said after Bryan's explanation. "Well, where are you two guys heading?" 

"Well, Sir Ivanov said that I should see what Rei looks like," said Tyson while looking at Max and Bryan. 

Bryan shrugged while Max just nodded shyly. "Rei's in the library studying his literature. Oh, and Bryan…Rei received his reply now." 

Hearing this Tyson looked at Max with slight curiosity. "So, Kai's letter is here? Already?" 

"Of course," replied Bryan, looking smug. "Our kingdom has a the fastest messengers you can find." 

Max rolled his eyes. "You have to forgive Bryan, he's very smug when it comes into something that he likes, anyways, were here!" 

Right in front of them was the library door. Tyson looked at it with awe, it's twice as big as the library they have in their kingdom! He noticed Bryan opened the door revealing humongous shelves full of books, maps and things, several rows of table all polished and clean, and on the last row of the tables sat a boy whom Tyson thought was suppose to be Kai's fiancé, Rei Kon. 

"Hey Rei!" cried Max, skipping all the way where Rei was sitting down. 

Rei looked up from what he was reading and saw Max's very huge grin, Bryan's emotionless yet amused look and another boy whom he didn't know, but he has a very awed look on his face. Rei smiled slightly and motioned the other boys to sit on the vacant chairs. 

"So what's up?" asked Rei, putting his books away so he can chat with his friends. 

"Rei? So you're Rei Kon!" the boy whom Rei didn't know suddenly jumped up and down from his chair. "I knew it! Haha…Tala owes me 10 shillings* for this one!" 

"Erm…not to be rude or anything…" Rei said. "But, who are you?" 

Tyson sweatdropped and laughed nervously. "Oh, right. My bad, umm…I'm Kinomiya Tyson from the Hiwatari kingdom." 

Hearing his _fianc_'s surname, Rei's eyes widen as the size of teacup plates, his mouth opening and closing like a fish's mouth and his face has paled quite a lot. Certain thoughts were inside his head while the other three was just looking at him with curiosity in their eyes. Rei snapped back into reality when he saw three pairs of eyes watching him with interest. 

"Do you mind if you share what were you just thinking?" Bryan smirked again while Rei just glared at him. 

"No, why the hell should I say it to you, huh?" Rei turned to Tyson and gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about that. Umm…well, did he send you?" 

Tyson looked at Rei with confusion written in his face. "Who sent who?" 

"Did he send you, you know…that Hiwatari guy?" Rei asked again. 

"OH! You mean Mr. Grumpy-pants!" Tyson laughed at Rei's face. "Haha…I call Kai that because he's always grumpy. Anyway, no…he didn't send me here. I'm here with one of Lord Hiwatari's advisors to see if the preparation is going well and vice versa. While were here, one of your advisors are in the other kingdom as well." 

Rei looked at Max to see if the boy understood what this Tyson guy said, and apparently, Max has a very weird look in his face right now. Also Rei noticed that Max keeps on staring at the bluenette. The neko-jin smiled inwardly. 'It seems like someone has a small infatuation on someone,' he thought. 

"Oh, ok then." Was the raven-haired boy's reply. 

"So, Maxie here told us that you received a letter from you fiancé again," Bryan changed the subject. "So, care to tell us what is it about?" 

Rei shook his head. "I haven't read the letter yet. I was busy catching up on my literature work that I kind of forget." He sweatdropped and slightly scratched the back of his head. 

"Well? What are you waiting for, your wedding? Go and read the letter, idiot!" said Bryan impatiently while Max and Tyson were nodding their heads enthusiastically. 

Only Rei could do was roll his eyes and opened the letter. It sure looked pretty short, compared to what he wrote the last time. The letter read: 

_To Rei Kon: _

_ And you call yourself a royalty as well? Peh, some royalty you must be either! And I shouldn't be in hell either because you fit for that occupation! Haha…I still don't know why I waste my time writing pathetic letters to pathetic one like you, hmm…must be because I'm pity you. _

_ As I said about the other letter that I wrote, I could care less if I pissed you off. Why can't you get it inside your pathetic excuse of a head that I don't GIVE a damn! 'Cuz for one thing, I doubt that you'll skin me alive "figuratively" and "literally". You're too weak to skin me alive! I don't think your even fit to be the heir of YOUR pathetic excuse of a kingdom either! Your more like…a serf farming our lands…haha. _

_ Well, HOPEFULLY you will get my point and you'll stop writing to me because, one more letter coming from you, I will head straight immediately to your kingdom and beheaded you…with my bare hands! And haha…bite me? You're so sad you know that? _

_ Kai Hiwatari _

_P.S. Are you even worthy of me writing my name in here? _

"Damn, I know that Kai can be cold-hearted sometimes, no wait scratch that, he's always cold-hearted, but still…this letter is way too harsh." Tyson said peering over the letter when Rei handed it to him.

Max looked at Rei. The neko-jin knew this was coming so he didn't have any shocked look on his face. Instead, he had a calm aura, you can't actually tell what the look on his face was, and his eyes looked dull and emotionless…turning into slits by the second…

Before Bryan could talk, four adults came inside the library. It was Lady Leila, Lord Rai, Judy Mizuhara, and Sir Ivanov. All of them have smiles on their faces, which means that everything is according to plan. Rei tried to calm down himself because his parents would notice how pissed he was.

"Hello," greeted Lady Leila. "I trust that you've introduce Young Kinomiya, Bryan?"

Bryan nodded. "Yes, I already have."

"Ah, good," replied Lord Rai. "As you can see, Rei meet Sir Ivanov from the Hiwatari kindom. He's one of Lord Hiwatari's advisors."

Rei managed to cool himself off and looked at the sight of the man called Sir Ivanov. For a mean, harsh _heir_ for the other kingdom, Sir Ivanov and Tyson were nice people. He couldn't help but wonder if his mother was right about her theory… He shook his head and put his hand out and smiled slightly.

"Nice to meet you, sir."

Sir Ivanov smile widened a little bit more and shook hands with Rei. "It was very nice to meet you as well. I've wonderful things about you, Rei and I must say all of them are right."

The neko-jin blushed slightly from the compliment. "Thanks…"

Sir Ivanov turned towards Rei's parents and started to have a conversation about how the wedding preparation was going really well. While the adults were having the conversation, Rei turned towards his friends. They were all smiling like Christmas came early, well except Bryan who had a smirk instead of a smile. Once again, Rei became suspicious at their actions and began to interrogate them.

"Why are all of you smiling?" asked Rei narrowing his eyes.

They didn't respond, but only widened their smile…or smirk for that matter. Max and Bryan motioned Rei to turn around while Tyson stifled a laugh. Rei reluctantly obliged the blond and the lilac-haired boys and turned around. When doing that, he saw his parents and the advisors looking at him like he already got married.

The neko-jin shifted in unease and finally asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Lady Leila shook her head. "Oh no, Rei. It's just that…both kingdoms have decided that you and the Young Hiwatari would stop writing letters now."

"Excuse me?" Rei was quite dumbstruck and happy at the same time. He couldn't believe that he would FINALLY stop writing letters to that jerk! Although he was still happy…or maybe shock, surprised, dumbstruck…Rei still couldn't figure out this feeling…that there was something going on that he doesn't know about.

"You heard your mother right," Lord Rai replied. "Because…"

Before could Judy continue what the Lord has to say, Tyson interrupted her by his stomach grumbling really…loud and well loud. The blue-haired boy just laughed nervously and scratched his head.

"Erm…sorry about that…" he apologized.

Lady Leila and Judy were chuckling slightly. "No need to apologize. After this discussion, we'll have a wonder breakfast," said Lady Leila.

"Anyway," continued Judy. "You're not going to write any letters anymore, since well, why write letters when you can meet your fiancé in person?"

'Why write letters when you can meet your fiancé in person…' That quote was repeated over and over and over again inside Rei's head. "W-what do you mean, Miss Judy?" he mangaged to stutter out.

"It means that you and Kai are going to finally meet in person." Judy announced.

After hearing that, Rei fainted.

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**Crystal: **I'm back! ^_^ Anyway, I'm sorry for the short chapter… ;_; Hmm…there was a bit of Tyson/Max…I hope it was ok? So yeah…OH! This is the first part of chapter 5, the next part is well…about how Kai will handle when he meets…REI! And their currency thingy, I used shillings...like in the Shrek movie! =D Oh…I still need help for the question that I asked in the last chapter:

**Which is better: Tala being the seme and Bryan the uke OR Tala being the uke and Bryan being the seme?**

**Crystal: **Ok, now I have to go, I have to look for Tala, and I also have to hide from Kai… ^_^;; Until next time! Ja ne! Oh, and review, review, review! ^_^ OH YEAH! Silly me...the preview! ^_^;;

_"What do you mean 'were meeting'?" demanded Kai as he abruptly stood up from where he was sitting. "We already wrote letters to one another, isn't that enough?!?!"_

_Voltaire gave his grandson a cold glance. "No, you still have to meet him. Why are you so upset anyway?"_

_Kai didn't answer his grandfather, instead he stormed off the study slamming the door so loud that it almost cracked. Voltaire sighed, and rubbed his temples. He motioned Tala and Dizzi to follow Kai and with that, both of them left the study._

**Crystal: **There we go! That's for you Keisan! ^_^ Well see you all next time! 


	6. What do you mean I'm meeting him? Part T...

**Crystal: **^_^ Hi everyone! 

**Tala: **-_-;; I'm the only one in here. 

**Crystal: *****ignores Tala*** ANYWAY! Let's get going, shall we? ^_^ TO THE RESPONSES! 

**SoulSister: **No worries here! ^_^ Tyson and Maxie WILL be a couple! 

**Cocoa Cupcake: **Hey! You changed your name! ^_^ 

**Platinum Rei: **LOL, Yes they are going to meet! Finally huh? And yes…I think there's a fight brewing…eep! . 

**CRaZy NeK0-JiN: **Yes…poor Rei. =( 

**StarryNightObession: **=DD This is the first ficcy you read that has Tala/Bryan? Aaaahhhh!! I feel so special! ^_^ And yup, Kai and Rei won't be all mushy, gushy when they meet each other. Haha…oh, and I so can't wait for your new fic! ^_^ 

**Devlinn Reiko-sama: **Thanks! ^_^ 

**Mix_yaw: **LMAO! I don't think Rei would sing that to Kai! =DD Although, it would be funny…LOL! 

**Shaka Dragomir Noctornus: **Don't worry! I won't make Rei too passive! Although…can I make Rei just a little bit naïve? Pretty please? 

**FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high: **Aww…poor you! Same thing with me…my cousin is a psychotic retard…sigh… ***shakes head*** -_-;; 

**Akata Angel*Silver.S: **I hate cliffhangers too…although its fun adding them in the story! LOL! 

**Idunno: **Thanks! =) 

**HimekoSukie: **LOL, thanks! =) 

**Bluumberry: **LOL, my original idea was for you guys to wait until the next chapter for them to meet. BUT, I guess I'll be nice and add it here. ^_^ 

**Devilburns: **Hehe, hope you like this chapter! ^_^ 

**Raluca: **Thankies! ^_^ LOL, don't worry, I'll give you the URL…go ONLINE though! Haha… ^_^ 

**Crystal: **There we go! As a reward…cupcakes for everyone!! 

**Tala: **What flavour are they? 

**Crystal: **CHOCOLATE! ^_^ Just like my teddy bear's name: Mr. Chocolate! 

**Tala: **-_-;; THAT teddy bear? 

**Crystal: **^_^ YUP! He's such a cutie…ANYWAY! Here's the next chapter you guys have been waiting for! 

**Disclaimer: **Check the previous chapters! 

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**Breathe – Chapter 6: What do you mean I'm meeting him?! Part Two**

A beautiful day in the northern lands, since summer is coming by pretty quickly, the trees' leaves are having the luscious colour green and flowers were growing everywhere. Farmers ploughing their lands to make their crops healthy, children playing by the green meadow not too far from the clean, clear river. While they were doing their daily work, a carriage was being pulled by three beautiful horses were passing by the fields making the villagers look up with curiosity. 

The horses that were pulling the carriage were Akhal Teke breed. It has long ears and long neck, short silky mane, a short tail, and a pale golden coat of colour for its skin, which is very velvety. Their harness is a dark brownish colour with a tinge of gold here and there that was being pulled by a coach*. The carriage has a bronze and golden colour; on the side, there are two doors with small, square windows with golden curtains hanging over them. Inside the carriage were two people from the Kon Kingdom. 

"What a beautiful sight," Kenny watched in awe as they passed by the meadows. 

"Yes, it certainly seems so," agreed his father who was busy looking through all the parchments he's holding. 

Right before Kenny could ask what his father was looking at, the motion of the carriage stopped and the coach told them that they have arrived at their destination. 

Meanwhile, inside Kai's grandfather's study, it seems that the Young Hiwatari, and the senior one was yet having another argument. Of course, like the last time, their argument is once again about Kai's future. 

"What do you mean with 'were meeting'?!" demanded Kai as he abruptly stood up from where he was sitting and slamming his fist on his grandfather's desk. "We already wrote letters to one another, isn't that enough?!"

Voltaire gave his grandson a cold glance, "No, you're still going to meet him and that's _final_. Why are you so upset anyway?"

He never got an answer since Kai stormed off the study. Voltaire sighed and rubbed his temples. He motioned for Tala and Dizzi to follow Kai and with that, both teens left the study.

"Now…if I were Kai, where would I be?" Tala tapped his chin with his index finger.

Dizzi rolled her eyes. "You dope, he must have been in the training room. Although, I think we should let him cool off first."

Tala just nodded his head continued on walking. No one said anything yet until they caught a glimpse of a carriage just by the entrance of the palace. The red headed boy elbowed the girl beside him, making Dizzi cough and glare at him. Ignoring the glare, he motioned Dizzi to look by the entrance. Dizzi gave Tala one last glare and looked over by the entrance. True enough, there it was a carriage and two people came out. Both of them have brown hair, although the smaller one has his hair covering his eyes.

"Wonder who would be coming in here, it's so early in the morning!" Tala thought out loud, with his forehead having lines as he frown. Dizzi just rolled his eyes and dragged Tala to where the carriage is.

Kenny and his father came out the carriage just before Tala and Dizzi could walk over to them. The sight in front of him fascinated the brunette. The castle was made out of the strongest bricks they could find and even though they're inside the castle, there are still trees inside the courtyard growing. He let his wander a bit more and noticed that there were two people walking towards them.

"Erm…Father? There are some people coming over this way," said Kenny while taking a short glance to his father.

Ichiro Minamoto looked up from the parchment and saw a boy with red hair and a girl with platinum blond hair walking towards them. Well, more like the girl is dragging the boy with her. A smile came on Ichiro's lips when he noticed that both people were the same age as his son.

"Hello there," said the girl. "I'm Dizzi Tokugawa and this is Tala Ivanov." Both gave them a warm hearted smile and bowed their heads.

"Ah, hello there, I'm Ichiro Minamoto, one of Lord Rai Kon's advisors, and this is my son Kenny Minamoto," After hearing his name, Kenny also bowed politely and mumbled a 'hi'.

Hearing the word "Kon", Tala's icy blue eyes and Dizzi's dark violet eyes widen with surprise and started to have a very wide smile.

"Oh, I assume that you would want to talk to Lord Hiwatari?" asked Tala while Dizzi just gave them a sweet smile.

"Ah, yes, I believe this is about Young Hiwatari's and Young Kon's wedding," explained Ichiro.

Dizzi nodded. "Oh, I see. Well then Tala could you please lead Sir Minamoto to Lord Hiwatari's study please?"

Tala gave her a slight glare but complied anyway. "Very well then, _Dizzi._ Sir, if you would just follow me." With that Tala motioned Sir Minamoto to walk with him inside the castle leaving the 'I just drank some coffee!' Dizzi and the 'Oh, dear…' Kenny by the courtyard alone.

Dizzi saw how tense Kenny is, she held him by the hand and giggled. "Why are you so tensed up? It's not like I'm going to bite you or anything."

"Uh…w-w-why are you h-h-holding my hand?" stuttered the poor brunette making Dizzi giggle again while he, himself flushed different kinds of red.

Dizzi started to walk across the courtyard while dragging the poor brunette with her. "Come on, I want to show you something or I guess someone is fine." Both walked at the path until they went inside the castle. What Kenny saw is marvellous! Paintings of people from the Hiwatari clan were looking down upon him and Dizzi with joy and pride.

"Those were Kai's ancestors," Dizzi saw Kenny looking up at the paintings. "They're the ones who fought battles to make our kingdom like what it is today."

"Oh, I see…umm…well where are we going anyway?" asked Kenny, finally relaxing a bit.

Dizzi smiled. "Well, glad to see your not tensed up anymore, and were going to the dojo where Kai, Tyson, Tala and I practise our sword skills. Kai and Lord Hiwatari had another row this morning about the wedding and I'm pretty sure that Kai went to the dojo to meditate."

Kenny just nodded and kept on walking until they were in front of a big door with a drawing of a phoenix engraved on the surface. Dizzi let go of Kenny's hand (much to his disappointment, whoops the cat's out of the bag) and pushed the heavy doors open, revealing Kai sitting in the middle of the wooden floor, legs and arms crossed with his eyes closed. His armbands were off and now lying beside the stoic boy.

"What are you doing here, Dizzi?" Kai opened one of his eyes, revealing his cold, crimson eye that made Kenny shudder even though no breeze came inside the room.

"I take it that you're done your meditation?" Dizzi mused while coming inside and motioning Kenny to do the same.

Kai noticed that someone was with his friend and smirked. "Who's he, Diz? Your boy toy or something?"

When Kenny heard this, he began to blush veryyyyyyy hard again while Dizzi just glared at Kai and smacked him in the head.

"You are such a freak! He's not my boy toy you goof ball! He's from the Kon Kingdom with his father! I just met him today too!"

Hearing the name "Kon", Kai gave the deadliest glare that you ever did see at Kenny making the brunette quiver in fear. Just as Kai was ready to snap at him, Tala burst into the room with his lungs burning and heaving in need of a LOT amount of air.

"Tala, what's wrong?" asked Dizzi.

"There…you…guys…are," Tala kept on panting. For a few minutes he kept on breathing in and out until he was back to normal. "I was looking for you both!" Tala pointed at Kenny and Dizzi.

"Ok, now you found us, what's the big deal?" asked Dizzi nonchalantly while Kenny just stood there, just listening to the others.

Tala pulled Dizzi and Kenny and motioned Kai to stand up. "Introductions, explanations and whatever are later. We have to go to Lord Hiwatari's study, NOW."

Just as Tala, Dizzi and Kenny were about to exit, Kai didn't budge from where he was standing. Tala sighed exasperatedly and told Dizzi and Kenny to go ahead and pushed the stoic boy outside the door, it was a hard task since Kai can really stand his ground and it would take pure miracle to get him to move.

"Arggh…Kai just MOVE!" Tala tackled Kai and with that, the crimson-eyed boy was thrown outside the door with Tala standing by him, grinning like a maniac.

"What's going on anyway," Kai asked while dusting himself.

Tala just shrugged and smirked. "I thought you don't care about your wedding?"

Kai just glared at him. "I don't" With that, both boys headed towards Voltaire's study.

When Kai entered the study, he saw a man with brown hair just like that Kenny's hair. He also noticed that everyone was there, well minus the servants, Tala's father, and Tyson. "What's going on?" he asked, while he was glaring at every people in the room.

"Kai, guess what?" asked Dizzi. "Ok, never mind, I'll just tell you anyway, hehe…ack this is so EXCITING! Ok, we-"

"Were meeting your fiancé… in a week," Tala got to the point already told him while Dizzi was resisting the urge to smack Tala.

Since Kai can't do anything anymore, he just 'Hn'ed and leaned against the wall while the others are chatting excitedly. Unknown to him, his grandfather and Tyson's father was looking at him with a very proud look.

"This will be a great opportunity for him," said Yamato Kinomiya said. "You've made a great decision, Lord Hiwatari."

Voltaire gave a half smile. "Yes, he deserves it. He already lost his parents, and even though we were always there for him, he's still alone…I hope the Young Kon will be able to fulfill that space."

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**Crystal: **^_^ THERE! All do-

**Max: **NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! ***tackles Crystal and drags her away***

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"Are we there yet?" asked Max for the 150th time ever since they travelled from their kingdom.

Bryan sighed exasperatedly. "For the last time, NO! Get that through your thick head!"

It has been a week since the advisors from both kingdoms went to do their tasks and now three carriages were travelling to one of the castles that the Hiwatari kingdom made, one carriage for Max, Rei, Kenny, and Bryan. Another one for the advisors, and the last one is for Rei's parents. They have been travelling for 6 hours now. Kenny was telling Max, Rei, and Bryan how wonderful the Hiwatari kingdom is. Even though the castle's in the northern regions, it was pretty warm, and the grass and trees were very pretty and luscious. At first while Kenny was babbling about that, the other three were interested. But since the ride was taking too long for their liking, Bryan ignored Kenny and he was just staring outside. Max was humming some song that he learned from Kami knows where, and Rei? Well, he was bored too, although every time Kenny asks him a question, he would just nod or say yes.

"Master Rei, we have arrived," said the coach while stopping the horses from moving.

"FINALLY!" Bryan stretched his numb arms and yawned, while Max mumbled something about shortage of sugar, and Kenny rushing out the door saying that he need to go to the bathroom*…real bad.

Rei looked at his surroundings, the meadow was really wonderful; the trees were tall and sturdy while the flowers were blooming very nicely. And being a neko-jin that he is; Rei could hear water rushing very fast, which means that there's a river close by. He was just about to walk further up ahead with the others when he caught a glimpse of a small deer by the grassy area. He smiled slightly when its mother came in to the picture, tending its small child. He snapped back to reality when Max was yelling at him to hurry it up, Rei just shook his head and ran to where the others are.

"They're here!" Dizzi cheered as she looked over to window to where she was waiting for the carriages for the past 6 hours.

While Rei and the others took the time travelling all the way to their destination, the other Kingdom only took them about 24 hours to get to the palace, since they were the ones that built up this place.

"Where? Where?" Tyson came running right down the hall almost slipping at a marble floor.

"Right there!" Dizzi pointed by the window and saw 6 adults and 4 teenagers coming out of the carriages.

Tyson dragged Dizzi by the arm and led her out the door, meeting Tala who was already there with Kai, the advisors and of course Lord Hiwatari.

"So, who's Rei there?" whispered Tala as Tyson and Dizzi walked over to him.

Tyson just smiled and didn't say anything.

"Ah, Rai…Leila, how wonderful to see you both," Voltaire greeted the first two adults who were walking towards them, hand in hand.

Lady Leila just smiled warmly while Lord Rai just greeted back at Voltaire. "Wonderful to see you as well, Voltaire."

Meanwhile, as the adults were talking to each other, Bryan was looking at the surroundings, while Rei is just looking down at his feet, fidgeting his hands; Max looked at Kenny confusingly while the brunette was trying to hold it in. Kenny looked at the castle, sure enough…since the sun is setting, the castle looks different…like some mean, and nasty is going to come out and eat him alive.

"Their c-castle looks so d-dark and s-s-scary…Rei, I don't think I need to go to their bathroom anymore," Kenny replied as he was still staring at the castle.

"Ugh…I think that's too much info there, Minamoto," Bryan cringed his nose and glared at the smaller boy.

Kenny slapped his own forehead. "I didn't do THAT, Bryan! That would be so embarrassing!"

Hearing what Kenny said, Judy looked over to them with a slight confusion and concern etched on her face.

"Is something wrong, boys?" she asked, looking at them a stern look.

Max gave his mother a reassuring smile. "Nothing's wrong, Mother. But…I am wondering…do they serve the **sweetest** desserts here, like in our kingdom?"

Judy gave her son an amused look. "We'll see, Max. Now, come on Rei, Lord Hiwatari wants to see you."

Rei put his head up and his eyes widened. The neko-jin nodded and gulped slightly and walked away from his friends, following Miss Judy to where Lord Hiwatari and his parent were.

"Ah, so this is Rei Kon," a man, who Rei assumed was Lord Hiwatari was looking at him, and held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Rei, trying to be polite, shook the hand and smiled slightly. "Pleasure is also mine, sir."

"So, where is the Young Hiwatari?" asked Lord Rai, making Rei choke on his own saliva, although no one noticed it.

Voltaire motioned one of his advisors, whom Rei knew as Sir Ivanov to get his future husband. The neko-jin smiled slightly when Sir Ivanov gave him a nod and a smile.

"Hope they brought food with them from their kingdom," Tyson said dreamily. "No offence or anything to our cooks, but…their food is so heavenly!"

Dizzi rolled her eyes. "You always think about food, Tyson. I want to see Rei!"

Tyson laughed at her impatience. "Then should have come with Sir Ivanov and me. Damn…he's really nice…he's not like in the letters he wrote at all!"

"Probably because Kai pisses him off. Although I know I'm going to be right…Kai has that affect on people," Tala laughed with Tyson who was almost lying on the floor because of what the red head said.

Kai, who was leaning on the stonewall with his eyes closed and arms crossed was just ignoring everyone there. He was about to go back inside when Sir Ivanov touched his shoulder firmly.

"It's not time to go back yet, Kai," he said while motioning Kai to turn around and walk the other way. "You still have to meet Rei."

Kai didn't say anything but let Sir Ivanov guide him to the crowded area.

"Lord Hiwatari," Sir Ivanov acknowledged their presence to the others. Kai saw someone standing by the other two adults. He has golden orbs of eyes and a very long raven-hair that went up to his knees. Kai smirked inwardly, 'Is this some kind of joke?' he thought. 'This Rei is a girl!'

"Ah, Kai, this is Lord Rai and Lady Leila of the southern lands and their son and **your **fiancé, Rei Kon." Voltaire introduced the three, with pride.

Kai just kept on smirking inwardly, 'Oh, how silly of me…he's boy.' "Pleasure to meet you, sir, ma'am." The crimson-eyed boy bowed politely while he shook his _fiancé's _hand reluctantly.

Rei looked at Kai, frowning slightly. 'He's up to something I know it,' he thought. 'That bastard! He's sucking up to my parents!' The neko-jin saw Kai bowing at his parents looking all innocent.

"Come inside and let these young ones get to know each other," Voltaire said motioning the adults inside leaving Kai, Rei, Tala, Bryan, Tyson, Max, Kenny, and Dizzi alone outside, well unless if you include the servants who were carrying the luggage inside.

Once every adult was inside the castle, Kai started to wipe his hand on his pants with a disgusted look on his face. Seeing Kai was about to make a rude comment, Tala roughly pushed the stoic boy out of the way, shaking Rei's hand.

"It's so finally good to meet you, Rei," Tala almost ripped Rei's arm off but Tyson yanked him out.

"Hehe…sorry 'bout that Rei! It's just that, these two have been waiting to see you!"

Rei just smiled at the bluenette. "It's ok."

"Forgot about us, Kinomiya?" Tyson looked over at Rei's shoulder, and saw Bryan's smirk, Max's cheerful smile, and Kenny's…well, Kenny's glasses.

"OH, hey! I didn't see you guys there!" Tyson waved his hand like a madman, and also grinning…like a madman.

Dizzi giggled, "It looks like Tyson made a lot of friends." She looked over Tyson's shoulder. "Hey Kenny."

Kenny managed to stutter a 'hi', but…Bryan noticed how his little friend look so bashful that he made a remark. "Did something happened when you were here, Kenny?" he asked giving Kenny 'the look'.

"WHAT?!?! N-n-no! Nothing happened!"

Tala frowned. "Yeah, something DID happen."

Bryan looked over to where Tala was standing and saw the twinkle in those icy blue depths, "Really now…and pray tell us…er…"

"Tala, Tala Ivanov," the red head. "And you?"

"Bryan Kuznetson."

Just before could Tala continue on the conversation, Kai somehow managed to steal Tala's thunder. He looked at Rei and said…well more like sneered, "Are you sure you're not a girl?"

Time slowed down as Kai said those words. Bryan, Max and Kenny widened their eyes, well…I'm not sure about Kenny since his eyes were being covered by his own hair and looked over to where was standing. Rei, who's mind FINALLY clicked after hearing that insult; he's eyes were turning into slit minute by minute, his fangs were appearing from his lips.

"Oh, great!"

"Uh oh…"

"Aaahhh!!!"

The other three, just stood there with their eyes wide open as well. Rei wasn't kidding about the getting pissed part; he was being serious! Before Rei could lunge after Kai, a servant was calling the neko-jin's name.

"Master Rei! Master Rei!"

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**Crystal: **XD Aaaahhhhh…!!!! 9 freaking pages for chapter 6!

**Tala: **Wow…that's…a LOT.

**Crystal: **Yup! Sighh…oh, do people from the old days have bathrooms in their castles? =S

**Tala: *****shrugs*** I don't know…I'm not an old days person, am I?

**Crystal: **Sighh…guess not, ANYWAY, I'll just say they do have bathrooms in the old days! ^_^ OH, what do people call those people who drives those carriages with the horses? =S

**Tala: **I don't know!

**Crystal:** Sigh...fine. Well, I'll leave it here for now, and remember…

**Tala and Crystal: **Review, review, review! Just press that button right there that says "Go." ^_^

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	7. Insults and Pranks galore! Part I

**Crystal: **^_^ Hey you guys! I am so happy… ***sobs on Tala's shirt*** 

**Tala: *****pats Crystal on the back***-_-;; You're making my shirt wet. 

**Crystal:** Sorry about that Tala…anyway, lets get to the responses so we can start the story, ok? Now, to the responses! 

**Devlinn Reiko-sama:** XD Yeah! My fingers were itching to type that so they can meet each other! LOL! 

**Sarcasmcat:** I put a cliffy? o.O I didn't really realized that…hehe… ^.^;; 

**Animegirl8:** oOh…yay! So there **are** bathrooms in the old days…thanks for telling me! ^_^ As a reward…you get a…Kai plushie! ^_^ Umm…just make sure you don't tell Kai that I gave you an exact replica of him, ok? ***hands over the plushie*** 

**Legolas19:** Thanks! =) 

**C0tt0n kand3e:** LOL! I love this chapter too. And yes…there's going to be something going on between Tala and Bryan, didn't I tell you that before? =S 

**Bluumberry:** ***sniffles*** I know how you feel…but it has to be done…and don't worry, Kai'll think that Rei's beautiful very soon! ^_~ 

**FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high:** LOL! Kai is definitely in HUMONGOUS trouble, he should have listened to Rei, but no…instead he had to be all bastard-y about it. 

**Lokisash: **LOL! Another one of the people that want Kai gets beat up by Rei! Haha… XD 

**Shaka Dragomir Noctornus:** Yeah! Thanks! ^_^ 

**CRaZy Nek0-JiN:** LOL, sorry for making you wait for chapter 6! ^_^;; 

**SoulSister:** XD Kai's not going to know what hit him…he should have taken precautions before meeting Rei. LOL! 

**Goten-loves-bra-loves-got:** LOL, what a nice idea…hmm…we'll see… XD 

**Tariki Rania:** Haha…we'll see who gets to skin who… ^_^ 

**StarryNightObession:** ^_^ It's ok! ^_^ And, WHAT?! You have a virus on your computer! Damn…I hope its already been fixed! LOL, and yes…Rei's parents—well his mother at least, she has a short attention span…LOL! Thank God, Rei didn't get that trait from her… XD 

**Devilburns:** Thanks! ^_^ 

**xXmizz-pnayXx: **LOL, a little bit of both…yeah. 'Cuz for one thi—mmphmmph!! ***Tala clamps his hand on Crystal's mouth*** 

**IndigoDeath666:** ^_^ Here's the next chapter! 

****

**Other reviewers:** During when FF.net was down and the email spamming going on, I never received five of my review alerts, so I didn't got the chance to see you're reviews. So I'm really sorry for not mentioning you guys individually. ;_______________; 

**Crystal:** There! Now that's settled, who wants popcorn! Haha…if we get to be witnesses of the Kai/Rei feud, we need to have refreshments, ne? =D 

**Tala:** -_-;; Just make sure you DO NOT let Kinomiya come here, last time I checked…he frisked our fridge! 

**Crystal:** LOL! Don't worry Tala! Tyson's preoccupied already…hahaha… ***points to the closed door*** Now, on to the amusement! ^_^ 

**Disclaimer:** go check the previous chapters, just make sure you don't stumble to any doors ok? 'Cuz I'm pretty sure you don't want yourself seeing anything. XD 

**Breathe – Chapter 7: Insults and Pranks galore! Part I**

"Master Rei! Master Rei!" the servant panted as he ran to where the neko-jin is. 

In an instant, after hearing the servant, Rei calmed down immediately so he wouldn't scare the poor man. Surely enough, the slits in Rei's eyes have disappeared and the golden-eyed boy isn't snarling anymore. Rei turned around his back and saw the servant taking a huge breath clutching his knees for support. 

"What's wrong?" he asked as he helped the poor man. 

"I-it's your tiger, sir," said the servant. "He's growling and snarling at everyone, one of the helpers got injured…" 

Hearing this, Rei ran towards where his tiger, Driger was. At the same time that Rei ran, Tala and Dizzi were quite shocked…and well, impressed. It's not everyday that they meet someone with a pet tiger. 

"Wow…Rei has a pet tiger?," mused Tala. "Well, what do you know…Kai has a pet too. Is that a coincidence or not?" 

Kai glared at Tala and stormed off inside the castle. Dizzi shook her head. 

"Don't mind Kai, he treats his love ones like that," she giggled. "So, Rei really has a pet tiger?" 

Max bobbed his head up and down like a puppy. "Yeah! His name is Driger, and he's so cool! Rei got him as a present when he was like 10 years old or something." 

"We'll show you if you want." Kenny suggested while his bashfulness was slowly withering away, and also ignoring Bryan's smirk. 

"Sure!" Dizzi said cheerfully. "Can we go see him? Tala? Tyson?" 

The bluenette agreed and Tala already started to follow Rei's path. Dizzi jumped for joy and grabbed Kenny's hand dragging him to follow Tala. Kenny, who wasn't aware of what's going on for 5 minutes, got startled and startled to blush which also lead to Bryan's smirk to widen more. 

"Haha…Max, our little Kenny is growing up so fast," Bryan said while pretending to wipe a tear. 

Max just laughed while Tyson's stomach grumbled loudly making the other two look at him. The teen just grinned sheepishly and told them to go ahead while he goes back inside the castle. Max looked at Tyson while the boy was running back to the castle. He doesn't know what it is, but something's lurching inside his stomach, and its not hunger. 

Bryan noticed this and asked, "You like him don't you?" 

Max snapped his head back to face the lilac-haired boy and felt his face redden a little. "What?! No, that's ridiculous! I just met him…so why would I like him so soon?" 

The other boy just shrugged. "Well, you're looking at his ass for one thing, and when he was at our kingdom you kept on staring at him like some lovesick maiden." 

"I wasn't staring at his ass! I was staring at…at…" Max trailed off, feeling so embarrassed. 

"At what?" Bryan gave Max a triumphant grin while the clear blue-eyed boy just stuck his tongue out and started to walk faster. 

Bryan rolled his eyes and tried to catch up to Max. "Oh come on, Max! I was just only kidding! No wait…it's the truth anyway! Argghhh…is this what lovesick people do? Act like they have PMS both men and women?" The lilac-haired boy sighed and shook his head. 

____________________________________ 

"What's going on here?" Rei stopped at the sight. Right in front of him was Driger growing and snarling at everyone. Since he's the only one who could get Driger to calm down, Rei started to walk towards the intimidating tiger. 

Most villagers who tried to help tame the tiger gasped in shock while watching Rei walk ahead. 

"Is he cracked in the head?!" cried one while watching in fear. 

"Someone should stop him! Anyone!" cried another one while helping an injured villager. 

Rei ignored all of everyone who was there and just kept on walking towards Driger. Driger who was still hissing, takes back a step while Rei took a step towards him, until his back was at the tree. Rei got the tiger trapped and tried to pet him. At first the tiger was flinching, but soon Driger relaxed and started to purr. The villagers who witnessed it all were amazed. How can one boy calm a tiger that was on a rampage just a few minutes ago? Rei somehow read the villagers thoughts and explained it to them, not noticing that Tala, Dizzi, Kenny, Bryan and Max came. 

"Driger's my pet tiger, he went on a rampage probably because you might have offended him," Rei kept on petting Driger's head. Slowly, one by one the villagers started to carry more of the luggage that the Kon Kingdom brought leaving Rei on his own. 

"Wow," Dizzi walked slowly towards where Rei was. "Can I pet him?" 

Rei smiled. "Sure, just don't look like you smelled something disgusting, it can easily offend Driger like that." 

Bryan shuddered. "Reminding people about that brings back scary memories." 

"What do you mean?" Tala asked, looking at the other boy in mild confusion. 

"Oh yeah! I remember that! That was so harsh…it gave me nightmares!" Max exclaimed while looking at Dizzi petting Driger. 

"WHAT HAPPENED?!?!" asked Tala again, but this time more annoyingly so. 

Dizzi sweat dropped. "On behalf of Tala, sorry. It's just that…he's kind of impatient." 

"You should see yourself," Tala snorted while crossing his arms. 

Dizzi searched for the bluenette. 'Now where is that Tyson?' she thought. 

"Where's Tyson?" 

"Kinomiya head back to castle already," answered Bryan. "And I think I'll go too." With that, he started to walk back. 

_________________________________________ 

"IDIOT!" 

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING IDIOT, WENCH?!" 

"YOU! AND DON'T CALL ME WENCH, ASSHOLE!" 

It has been 3 hours since they've gone back to the castle, 2 hours since after their dinner has been eaten, and an hour since the adults left the younger adults in this small comfy room with soft sofas, warm fireplace, even a piano's (1) there! At first everyone got along pretty fine, both Kai and Rei minded their own business, while the others played cards (2). Unfortunately, it was too good to be true, when both Kai and Rei wanted the same seat by the fireplace; it was pure madness I tell you, madness! 

"How many minutes since they have been bickering like cats and dogs, and no pun intended for that cat," Tyson yawned, while his hand was supporting his head. 

"It's actually hours," Kenny replied dryly, while looking up from the book he was reading. 

Bryan sighed. "This is going to take forever," he turned to where Kai and Rei were biting their heads off. "Would you guys just shut up?! If you haven't notice, the more you argue, the more you look like a married couple!" 

"WE DO NOT LOOK LIKE A MARRIED COUPLE, AND WE NEVER EVER WILL!" Both said at the same time, glaring at Bryan then glared back at each other. "STOP THAT! STOP SAYING WHAT I'M SAYING!" 

"I CAN SAY WHATEVER I WANT!" Rei yelled; his eyes already have slits in them. 

"WHO SAID SO? THE TREE?" taunted Kai while his death glare was trying to pierce through Rei's face. 

Before Rei could answer back, Dizzi stood up and started to yell. "SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" 

"We didn't even say anything," Tala muttered, while Max nodded in agreement. 

Dizzi looked—no wait, glared at the two, "If the both of you won't stop bickering, I will force the both of you to sleep in the same bedroom, TONIGHT! (3)" With that, she sat right in the middle of Tyson and Tala, who were looking at here like they don't know her all their entire life. 

Of course, since both don't want to accept the consequences, Kai and Rei went to different seats, still glaring at each other. The rest of the people sighed in relief, finally some peace and quiet. Well, almost, since the bickering lasted for a long time, they hadn't realize that it was really late, so everyone started to head back to their rooms. Well, Kai didn't and Tala noticed that so he stayed as well. 

"Aren't you supposed to go to bed like the rest of us?" Tala raised his eyebrow while crossing his arms across his chest. 

"Would you be quiet? I'm plotting here," Kai gave Tala a death glare. Tala just rolled his eyes and sat down in a chair right across from Kai. 

"Let me guess…you're plotting to elope with your fiancé to some other place?" Tala suddenly looked very interested at this plotting game. 

Kai glared at the other boy. "Hell, no. Come on, I have the idea already." Tala noticed that there's an evil glint on Kai crimson orbs, and sighed inwardly. 'Oh boy, great, I knew asking him wouldn't be a good idea. But did I listen to myself? No, so now I have to be a part of it,' he thought. 

Meanwhile, Rei looked around his surroundings. The bedroom was quite nice; it had a four-poster king-sized bed with red sheets and very fluffy pillows. There was a big, arched window with a balcony outside with an ivory table with chairs sitting there looking nice. Rei sighed, it's so warm and cosy. He dressed up for bed dived into the soft bed, drifting of to slumber. 

Not before long Rei could really sleep, the neko-jin heard voices coming in from somewhere in his room. Half-asleep, he thought that he was dreaming, until he heard the noises again. Now fully awake, Rei checked his surroundings. He would have heard someone coming to the room, after all he would have heard the door open and close. What if this castle's haunted? Rei shook his head. 'Don't be silly, Rei,' he scolded himself. 'There's no such thing as ghosts.' Reassuring himself, he went back to sleep, well…sort of, he's still half-asleep. 

Kai bonked Tala on the head. "You idiot!" he whispered coldly. "You almost woke the wench up!" 

Tala glared at him, while rubbing his head here and there. "Well, gee, sorry. I'm not even a part of this stupid thing that you're trying to pull." 

Both Tala and Kai were at a secret corridor that only them, Tyson and Dizzi knew about. You see, the cold-hearted boy thought that it would be amusing if he decides to pull a prank on the neko-jin. And of course, Tala knew about it, and Kai couldn't leave Tala knowing this, so if he's going down, Tala's coming with him. 

"You ready?" the crimson-eyed boy asked the icy blue eyed boy. 

Tala rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I don't have a choice do I?" 

Kai smirked. "Nope." 

Rei opened his eyes. There it was again, those noises. Grumbling slightly, he stood up groggily, went over by the small table, and took a glass of water. Until…he sensed that someone was behind him. Rei turned around and what he saw made his eyes widen (4). 

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Rei ran and opened the door headed where one of his friends' room is, screaming bloody murder. 

When Rei left the room, Tala and Kai made their appearance out of the dark, one was scowling and the other one is…well, smirking triumphantly. 

"Hope your happy, Hiwatari," grumbled Tala. "I was making friends with them!" 

"Oh yeah, I'm satisfied. Now they'll realize that my _fiancé _is a lunatic and they'll cancel off the wedding," Kai walked inside the secret door. "Come on, the wench probably woke up the whole castle by now." With that, both a smirking Kai and a grumbling Tala sneaked passed the secret corridor and went to their perspective rooms, pretending to hear Rei's screams like they just woke up from it. 

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Rei ran all the way the corridors, waking up everyone and I mean everyone. 

Lady Leila and Lord Rai came out of their room, looking very tired and sleepy. Everyone looked very tired and sleepy. Most of them were glaring at Rei for waking them up. Others were curious why someone would scream in the middle of the night. 

"Rei, honey, what's wrong?" Lady Leila hugged the trembling Rei who was shaking really badly from shock. 

"S-s-something w-was in m-my bedroom," Rei stuttered. 

While all this commotion was happening, Dizzi noticed Kai was stifling a laugh while Tala was giving the crimson eyed boy a death glare. The dark-violet eyed girl had a hunch that Kai did the same trick that he pulled on her when they were little. She walked over to where Kai was and glared at him. 

"What the freaking hell did you do to Rei?" she demanded silently so no one can hear here except Kai and Tala. 

Kai shrugged. "I didn't do anything. What makes you say that?" 

Tala glared at Kai even more. "Stop lying, Kai." 

"I knew it! You pulled that same trick to Rei. The one where you used to scare me all the time. Kai, how could you?" Dizzi slapped Kai, although it was quiet, it's still quite painful. 

"Dizzara," Lord Hiwatari motioned the girl to come over where Rei, his friends and the adults are. "Could you please escort Rei back to his room." 

Dizzi gave one last glare at Kai's direction and walked where the neko-jin was. "Rei, are you ok?" 

Rei just nodded and smiled weakly. As Dizzi help him walk back, he glanced to where Kai was standing, and saw a triumphant smirk etched on his face. The neko-jin started to narrow his eyes in suspicion, like Dizzi he has a hunch that this little fiasco had something to do with the slate-haired boy. 

Dizzi noticed this, suddenly had an idea. She explained to Rei that it was all Kai's doing and that he used to do that all the time to her when they were little. The dark-violet eyed girl observed that Rei was getting embarrassed and pissed off with the situation. 

"Don't worry, Rei. You'll get him back somehow," she reassured him as they got to Rei's bedroom door. 

"Thanks, Dizzi," Rei gave the girl a grin. 

Dizzi said that it was no problem and left after Rei closed the door. After the door was closed, she slapped her forehead, thinking that Kai better not know she told Rei about that, or else she'll be probably not wake up tomorrow morning. 'Although it was worth it,' she thought. 'Rei will get back at him.' 

**Crystal: **. Ack…sorry for the short chappy. Although Insults and Pranks galore has 3 parts to it. 

**Tala:** You made me evil?! 

**Crystal:** NO! You were against it, but Kai forced you to do the prank anyway. 

(1) – Ok, to they have pianos in the old days? =S 

(2) - LOL, do they also have cards in the old days? ^_^;; 

(3) - Ah, well Rei particularly begged his parents to not share a room with Kai, and vice versa, although I don't think Kai begged his grandfather… 

(4) – Hehe…I can't think of what Rei saw so I'll leave it to your imagination to what it is. ^_^ NO PERVERTED THOUGHTS THOUGH! 

**Crystal:** There we go! ^_^ Now, I really have to go now…don't forget to R&R and see you next time! ***waves happily*** 


	8. Insults and Pranks galore! Part II

**Crystal:** -blinks- 

**Tala:** o.O 

**Crystal:** -blinks again- 

**Tala:** err…what are you doing? 

**Crystal:** Pinch my arm. 

**Tala:** Why would I do that? oO 

**Crystal:** -rolls eyes- Oh, never mind. Anyway, here are the responses! 

--------------------------------- 

**Devlinn Reiko-sama:** Glad you like the chapter! Hope you like this one too! 

**FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high: **--;; Yes…Kai is very evil…and therefore he will be punished! =D 

**StarryNightObession: **Wow…that is a very long review! Even the longer than the ones I give to my friend's story! OO Anyhoo, I'm glad you like the part where Rei calms Driger down! Poor Rei-chan…he got insulted by his own koi… --;; AND, you too! Tsk tsk tsk…Kai put his own toe over the line… 

**Anime girl8:** Ooh…OK! So there WERE pianos and cards. LOL, you'll just have to see, or in this case, read what their pranks will be! ;) 

**IndigoDeath666: **--;; I know…evil, evil, Kai… 

**Platinum Rei: **Thanks for telling me! Oh, and yes…glad you like the tiger! =D 

**Tariki Rania: **LOL, you really can't imagine it?? He he…don't worry, I can't think of it either… --;; Oh, and hehe…you'll see Rei's revenge really soon… 

**CRaZy NeK0-JiN: **It really reminded you of Parent Trap? Hmm…I never really thought of that…but yeah, that made sense…hehe… 

**xXmizz-pnayXx: **-shudders- You're right…that is too scary… 

**Kodoku Wolf:** Oh, hell no! They won't think that Rei's mental…after all, if they would see that, they would do the same thing like Rei did. Besides, Dizzi knows how Rei feels with the situation, since Kai always scare her when they were little. 

**SoulSister:** Hehe…yeah, they DO sound like an old married couple…LOL! And yes…it's so hard to believe with the arguing going that they'll end up together… --;; 

**Yugi Lover: **Thanks! And don't worry, I'll R&R your stories! 

**Keisan: **Glad you liked the little previews! Oh, and about the begging thing…Kai probably threatened his grandfather… --;; OR, maybe…he's developing feelings for the neko-jin?? I don't know…probably the first one though…he threatened Voltaire…hehe… 

**Devilburns: **Thanks! =) 

**Siver-eyes Magician Girl:** Thanks! =) 

**Jirachi:** It is a possible, that Kai's eyes and Tala's eyes would glow in the dark…that would definitely scare me. --;; Anyway, here's the next chapter! 

**ShadowPhoenix666:** Hope you like this chapter! 

**Cocoa cupcake: **YOU AREN'T GOING TO DISCONTINUE YOUR STORY! I read it, Nikki reads it, Irene reads it, heck even Lourdes reads it, and she doesn't like Draco/Ginny very much, ya know. SO CONTINUE IT! It's so much fun sending you long ass reviews, Macy! COME ON! You're so enthusiastic when you want to write the story, besides your half way done…well I think…so why stop now?!?!?!?! And by the fact the I ADORE your story! Keep on writing, damn it! 

**White Spirit Angel:** LOL, yeah, it was so easy for Rei to hurt Kai…but then the servant just had to end it all… --;; 

--------------------------------- 

**Crystal:** There we go! As a reward for **ALL** of you guys…each of you will receive…ICE CREAM CAKE!!!!! =D 

**Tala:** --;; Let's get on with the Chapter shall we? 

**Disclaimer:** Check the previous chapters please! 

Breathe – Chapter 8: Insults and Pranks galore! Part II 

After a very long sleep, Rei groaned at the sound of birds chirping outside. The neko-jin got out of the bed and took a big stretch. He blinked for a couple of times to adjust his eyes, and noticed that he's not at his own room. Rei finally realized what happened everything yesterday, with the meeting, introducing, and that prank that almost scared him to death. Once again, at the thought of that, Rei started to growl immensely and his golden eyes were turning to slits, oh and did I mention that he's seeing red? Anyway, just before he was about to shred the curtains into cute, little handkerchiefs, someone was at the door, knocking. 

"Rei!" came a muffled sound from the other side. It was Max. "Are you awake yet?" 

Taking huge deep breaths, Rei calmed down but only just. "Yeah, I'm awake," he replied, walking toward where his brush is. 

"Good, can we come in then?" That voice came from the brunette, Kenny. 

"Umm, no its ok. I'll just meet you guys downstairs, all right?" Rei replied, while brushing the tangles away from his hair.

Rei heard Bryan say something, and then three pairs of footsteps were fading away. The neko-jin sighed. No doubt that once he was there at the dining area, Lord Hiwatari and his parents would bombard him with questions from the incident last night. Not to mention, once they've gone to prepare for the wedding, that stupid bastard of a _fiancé _would just mock him, in which that he has no mood for a verbal insult contest in a beautiful morning.

'Ha,' he thought glumly. 'Beautiful my ass.' The raven-haired boy quickly took a hot bath (that was already been prepared) and changed to his sleeveless Chinese shirt with a red sash and black baggy pants. He figured that his long black hair was still wet…really soaking wet, so he just brushed his hair, put his red bandana on and left it loose.

Rei's aura calmed down a lot after he took that bath. He felt refreshed, soothing, and satisfied. He left the room and headed straight to the dining area. As he was walking, the golden-eyed boy was on his think position (his thumb was on his chin, etc…), and thought up ways on how to hurt his fiancé **without** killing the crimson-eyed boy. Sure it would be painful…but not brutal. In no time at all, Rei found himself standing in front of the doorway that leads to the dining area. He pushed the huge doors open, making them slam on the stone wall, and entered, making the people there stare at him.

Rei noticed that the adults weren't there sitting at the table chatting merrily. Instead, there was Hiwatari, with the 'Don't talk or share oxygen with me' look; Tala, Dizzi and Bryan talking about something that Rei couldn't figure out what; Max was staring at Tyson while Rei saw what look like Tyson was trying to impress Max by stuffing his face with 3 bagels in his mouth at once; and Kenny? Well, he saw the neko-jin enter the room and motioned him to come over and sit.

"Hey Rei," replied the brunette as Rei took a seat next to him and beside Dizzi.

"Hey," was the only reply from the neko-jin. Rei scanned the room. "Where's Mother, and Father? What about Lord Hiwatari and the advisors?"

Hearing this made Dizzi stop talking to Tala and Bryan and turned around to her other side where Rei is. "Hey Rei! Oh, and Lord Hiwatari and the others already left for the preparation. Although…they won't be back for a couple of months."

When Dizzi said this, Rei accidentally choked on his orange juice and started cough like mad. Max snapped out from his staring routine and Tyson stopped stuffing his face with bagels, while both Tala and Bryan stood up from their seats and asked if Rei was ok.

"What's wrong cat-boy? Can't even drink a stupid orange juice right," Kai finally spoke for the first time when Rei came in the room. When the neko-jin entered the room, the crimson-eyed boy couldn't help but notice how his raven-hair was flowing down like a calm river…it's so tempting to let his hands brush it. 'Don't be stupid, Kai. You vowed to yourself that you'd never ever fall for him. You're doing a great job it and now you have an idea for another prank.'

"Kai! What if he suddenly drops dead, hm?" Dizzi looked at Kai with stern eyes.

Kai shrugged. "I could care less." He stood up from his seat and left without any noise, and felt people stare at him disbelief.

Tala sighed exasperatedly. "I still don't know why we put up with him."

"Why do you?" Bryan asked, while patting his raven-haired friend on the back.

Said raven-haired friend, Rei who was gaining oxygen, was starting to cough slightly as Bryan kept on patting his back. "B-Bryan! Augh…you can stop now!"

Hearing this, the lilac-haired boy stopped and sweat dropped. "Heh, sorry about that."

"What made you choke on your orange juice anyway?" asked Max.

Dizzi made a nervous giggle. "Haha…umm, I told Rei about the adults being away for a couple of months?"

"Hoof gob, Jizzi." Tyson said sarcastically while eating his scrambled eggs. Pairs of eyes stared at the bluenette. "Waf's fong?"

"Does he always do that?" asked Kenny.

Tala rolled his eyes. "Apparently…yes."

"Are you ok now, Rei?" asked Dizzi. "Sorry about that."

Rei reassured the dark violet-eyed girl, and smiled. Soon, everyone (minus Kai) ate his or her breakfast in silence. Well, Rei heard some scuffling under the table but figured that it was probably nothing and kept on eating. Due to Rei's naïve-ness (no offence!), there **was** something going on under the table.

"Would you guys please stop that!" Dizzi glared at a certain red headed boy, and a lilac-haired boy.

"What are you talking about, Dizzi? We're not even doing anything!" Tala both defended him and Bryan.

Just about Dizzi was going to retort back at the two, they heard someone cuss like mad. "Aaah! Oh, shit, crap, kuso!" yelled Tyson, as he tried to wipe something off his shirt.

"What happened?" asked Max with a tone of concern in his voice.

"Why are you so worried, Maxie?" Both Bryan and Tala snickered.

Max didn't say anything; instead he flushed a bright shade of burgundy. "I spilled Orange Juice on my shirt," Tyson replied while chuckling nervously.

Dizzi snorted. "Psh, it's just your shirt, Ty. You didn't have to swear like that."

"Hey! I'll have you know that it leaves stains that are hard to wash off!"

"So, your point?! You're not even washing them!"

"Well, you don't wash them either, so back off sister!"

Tala sighed. It's always like this in the morning. Every time Tyson does something and starts to swear, Dizzi gets ticked off and start to interrogate Tyson with retort phrases, as the red head like to call it. Just as Dizzi was about to send Tyson to the other side of the world and back, Rei suddenly jumped up his seat, looking all giddy.

"Tala," he called to the other boy.

"Yeah?"

"What's Kai's least favourite colour?"

Tala looked at the raven-haired boy like he was some kind of two-headed monster. "You actually want to know what Kai likes and what he doesn't like?"

Rei smiled innocently…too innocently to be exact. Bryan, Max, and Kenny stared at Rei, and noticed the smile that was floating on the boy's lips. 'Oh great,' they all thought. 'Something's up with him…'

"Well…I believe that Kai's least favourite colour is…pink." Tala answered. "Yup, it's definitely pink."

Rei gave a big grin towards Tala's direction and started to head towards the door. "Thanks, Tala!"

"Where are you going?" asked Bryan while trying to not smack Tyson and Dizzi (they're still arguing).

"I can't leave my hair hanging like this," Rei pointed at his raven-hair that's flowing down his back. "I'll see you guys later!" With that, the neko-jin left the dining area, leaving a peculiar Bryan, Max, and Kenny; a bewildered Tala; and Dizzi and Tyson who were still arguing.

"Did we miss anything?" asked Kenny while pushing his eyeglasses up his nose. "Because, I'm definitely sure that Rei hasn't given up yet on what he calls 'Anti-Wedding Plan'."

Tyson and Dizzi had finally stopped arguing, although they're not talking to each other. "You never know…he might have changed his mind or something," Dizzi added her 2 cents in.

Max sighed. "Knowing Rei…he might have something up his sleeve."

"Oh boy…" replied Bryan as Kenny shook his head.

Meanwhile, Rei went back to his room, now looking so happy and cheerful. What a perfect morning to start a perfect day. Well, despite the fact that his parents won't be here for a couple of months, **and** that he choked on his own orange juice. Anyway, Rei walked towards the vanity and brushed his hair again; after brushing those long strands, the golden-eyed boy braided it firmly and walked outside the balcony.

It was a very nice scenery. The trees could go on, miles, miles away, and mountains were looking so strong not even the strongest storms could destroy it. Although the scenery was a very beautiful sight, Rei didn't paid any attention to that. Instead, he's planning on getting revenge! Thinking what a good way to give Kai a proper hello in a really…is a _wonderful_ way. Especially with extra information, Rei's "Hello" would really be a fantastic creation! Although, he'd have to do the next day…or it would really be suspicious.

"Rei?" Dizzi and Kenny entered the room. "We have to go outside."

"Can't it wait later? I'm plotting this really cool idea now," Rei gave them a really big grin, which really surprised Dizzi.

"Let me guess…you're plotting against your fiancé because of what he did to you last night. Am I right?" Dizzi gave a soft smile.

Hearing this, Kenny suddenly went frantic. "I knew it! That smile that you gave Tala…that was no ordinary smile! That's the smile of death (1)! Arugh…what have myself gotten through this time…"

Dizzi looked at the boy back and forth with confusion etched in her face. "Smile of Death? What's that?"

"It's a smile that means Rei's going to do something evil to someone…and of course his lovely victim right now is…his fiancé! This is going to be so horrific…please tell this is all a dream…" Kenny went to his knees and started saying prayers for his safety and for the safety of mankind.

Rei laughed at the sight. "Don't worry, Kenny! I'll make sure you won't be a part of it." The neko-jin turned to Dizzi. "Umm…do you have any feathers in here?"

Dizzi looked at Rei…weirdly. "Umm…yeah, I think so. Anyway, this is NOT the time for this. We're late, now come on!" She pulled one of Rei's arms and motioned Kenny to do the same.

"B-but I need to finish my plan!" Rei whined as he was being dragged into the corridors.

Dizzi shook her head while Kenny sweat dropped and stifled a chuckle. "Sorry Rei. We're already late by the looks of it. So evil plots, and getting the materials are big no-no until later."

"Could you at least not pull me instead? You're making me look like a person that needs punishment."

Both Dizzi and Kenny dropped Rei's arms and walked ahead while Rei was rubbing his arms, because they were sore from the dragging the other two did. They walked a bit further until they've reached their destination. It was outside, at the courtyard. There were trees, and a humongous lake; also, outside, there were Tala, Bryan, Max, Tyson, and to Rei's disappointment, Kai was also there too.

"Hey Rei!" Max waved his arms like some kind of bird, flapping its wings up and down. "Glad you could make it! I saw you at your balcony, isn't that cool or what?"

Rei just sweat dropped at the blond and nodded. Kenny noticed this, and told the neko-jin that Max unfortunately got hold of some strawberry tarts; so now…Max would at least be hyper for…3 hours.

"What are we doing here?" asked Bryan as Rei took a seat beside him.

"Well…" started Tala. "Right before the adults left—Sorry to remind you, Rei. Well, right before they left, the advisors gave us these papers for instructions." He raised his arms so everyone could see a BIG stack of paper.

"In these papers are instructions about…activities of some sort." Tyson continued on with the explanation. "What I think they meant is that were going to do these "stuff" so we can get to know each other better."

Kai snorted. "So that basically means that we have to do something fun? Ha, thanks, but no thanks."

"Oh Kai, why not?" Dizzi puffed her cheeks while she put her hands on her waist.

"Sorry Diz, I don't do _fun_." The crimson-eyed boy replied.

Rei heard this and muttered. "What do you know…the asshole's scared to have fun." Unfortunately, Kai heard this and made a retort.

"Ha, for your information, wench: I'm not scared of ANYTHING. Another thing: you should speak for yourself. Since last night's events, I can guarantee you that you are definitely a scaredy-cat."

Rei's right eye was starting to twitch. How dare is he!?!?! The rest of them sighed disappointedly. NOT AGAIN! First was last night, and now this?

"I AM NOT A SCAREDY-CAT! Besides, you're the one who made me scream anyway! So if anyone has to be blamed by that, it would be you!"

"Ha, do you even have any proof?" Kai waited Rei to respond for a few minutes…until the neko-jin can't think of anything else to say, but instead glared at the slate-haired boy. "Heh, thought so."

Bryan looked at them, back and forth. "OK, everybody done arguing? 'Cuz right now, I want to get this thing over with."

Both glared at each other one last time, and listened to the first activity…which is…the trusting game (2)! How does that work? Well, each gets a partner and the first person falls backwards while the other person tries to catch them! Although, your partner is someone that you have just met, meaning that you can't be partners with your friends. Unfortunately, just before Rei could pick Dizzi, or Tala, or Tyson, they already had partners which means that the last person who doesn't have a partner was…yep, you guest it; it's Kai! Rei looked at the boy in front of him in disbelief. There isn't in the whole wide world that would make him partners with that jackass! Oh, definitely not!

"Maxie…can we switch partners, please??" Rei begged his blond friend who was dazed upon since he's Tyson's partner.

Max shook his head and smiled cheerfully at the raven-haired boy. "Sorry Rei. I'd love to switch…but…"

"You want Tyson to be your partner don't you?" Rei finished the sentence glumly. "Sigh, it's alright I guess." Again, he tried to ask Bryan and Kenny but sadly…he received the same answer.

'This is the worst day of my entire life,' Rei thought as he walked where Kai was.

"You have your partners?" Dizzi called out while everyone replied that they have their partners, etc etc. "OK, now, the person who's going to fall backwards please raise your hand." Tala, Max, and Dizzi herself raised their hands up.

"Let's just get this over with, alright?" Rei gave the older teen a cold glance.

"Whatever, I'll just go first."

"OK! Ahem, now, were going to fall in three, two, one!" With that, Rei felt Kai fall on him backwards and realized that the stoic boy was quite heavy! Luckily, he was strong enough so support the weight. Meanwhile, Kai smirked inside, he couldn't believe that the idiot caught him!

"Now, the person who did the catching will now be the person who's falling!" Dizzi announced happily, meaning that she was caught easily.

Rei looked at those crimson eyes with great distrust. Such a shame…now he has to fall backwards to the guy he dislikes the most.

"Look, I'm not going to make you fall. Besides, you caught me, so I should repay you, right?" Kai reasoned with the neko-jin.

Rei sighed. "Fine."

"OK! Three, two, one!" Just Dizzi finished saying the number three, Rei closed his eyes and let himself fall backwards. Though unknown to him just before the number three was called out, Kai took a big step backwards, far enough that there's a really big gap in between of him and the other boy.

Rei kept on falling backwards until…THUMP! He landed on his rear, really, really hard. "OUCH!"

"Rei! Are you OK?" Max kneeled beside his friend while Rei just rubbed his butt wincing slightly here and there.

"What happened?" asked Tyson. As an answer, the bluenette heard Kai laughed his ass off.

"No wait, I was wrong. You're not a scaredy-cat; you're more like a klutz and your also very gullible. Do you honestly think that I would catch you?" The crimson-eyed boy clutched on his stomach tightly.

Rei stood up with the help from Max and Bryan. "You no good son of a bitch! I knew you're going to pull a stunt like this! Arrghh…" With that, the three of them went back inside the castle, and not a minute to spare, Kenny followed them, leaving Tala, Kai, Tyson, and Dizzi outside.

Tala glared at Kai. "That was uncalled for Kai. He caught you for goodness sake's!"

"I never asked him to catch me, did I?" Was the only reply from the slate-haired teen.

Dizzi sighed, "Your just lucky the adults weren't here. They knew that you pulled that trick from last night Kai. They just didn't do anything about it, although I'm very sure that they're disappointed in you." Instead of answering, Kai just ignored the girl.

"Damn…poor Rei," Tyson muttered while Kai just sauntered back inside the castle. "Anyway, when's dinner going to be serve?"

"Rei, are you ok?" asked Tyson as once again, they're back at the dining area for dinner.

It had been HOURS ago since that fiasco outside, and Rei had to go to the infirmary to see if he had damaged any bones on his back. Luckily, none were broken to his relief, and to Kai's disappointment, although the healer warned the golden-eyed boy that he has to stop doing stunts like these or else he'll really have something broken.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rei gave the bluenette a reassuring smile. 'No thanks to that bastard-y friend of yours,' he snarled inwardly.

Dinner was a complete silence, although Kai, Tala, Dizzi and Tyson were looking at each other like they're having a conversation through their eyes. Rei didn't like the silence one bit. It was making him irritated, until the neko-jin remembered about the evil plan he had set up just for the crimson-eyed boy. Since sometimes, the master of pranks in their kingdom was Bryan, Rei decided that he would ask the lilac-haired boy to help him.

"Psst, Bryan?" asked the golden-eyed boy.

"Hm?" Bryan looked up from his food to see Rei with his "Smile of Death" that was etched on his face.

"Say, it's been a long time since you've been setting pranks, and I have this really cool idea for a prank. Care to help me?"

Bryan looked at Rei's face suspiciously. Normally, Rei's the one who would disapprove when he plays pranks on people, so why ask if he could join him to a round of pranking people?

"OK, who are you and what have you done to Rei Kon?" Bryan asked.

Rei sweat dropped and slammed his foot on top of Bryan's foot real hard. "I AM Rei, you dolt. So, are you going to help me or not?"

Bryan, still reminiscing the fact that his foot has been stepped on, in a non accidentally way, nodded while wincing here and feeling so sorry for his numb, sore foot. Rei saw Bryan's nod, almost jumped with glee. Hahaha…watch out Hiwatari! You're going to get your surprise present real soon… Anyway, Rei stood up and pulling Bryan to do the same, making the others (minus Kai) to look at them in confusion.

"Err…we forgot something outside, oh and Dizzi! Could you come with us, please?" asked Rei too sweetly, making Bryan, Max, and Kenny flinch visibly.

"We're taking her with us?! Wh—OUCH!" Once again, Rei stepped on Bryan's poor foot, and this time…it was hard…real hard.

Dizzi looked at the two, finally getting what Rei meant. "Umm…sure." With that, the three left, Tyson noticed that Bryan was limping slightly.

Once they're out of the earshot, Dizzi looked at Rei with curiosity. "Ok, what were the materials that you need again?"

Rei held his chin with his thumb and index finger. "Umm…let's see…2 sacks of feathers, and 1 big bucket of some sticky pancake syrup."

Dizzi giggled. "You really have this planned don't you? Ok, luckily I've been to this place before, come on I'll show you where to get them." The dark-violet haired girl led Bryan and Rei to where the kitchen is. Since the cooks and servants were busy, they hardly noticed the three people, until Dizzi tapped the head chef.

"Oh! Miss Dizzi, what can I do for you?" asked the chef in a thick, heavy voice.

"Can I get 2 sacks of chicken feathers and a barrel of pancake syrup please, Jacques?" asked Dizzi politely.

"Well you heard the lady! Get some feathers and a barrel of pancake syrup!" The head chef, who was called Jacques ordered the servants to get what Dizzi needed and got it in…less than two minutes.

"Wow…I'm impressed," muttered Bryan, while Rei just nodded.

"Here you go, Miss."

"Thanks, Jacques." With that, the three left while Dizzi was holding the light sacks and Bryan and Rei were carrying the barrel.

As they were carrying these, Dizzi was giving them tips since they're going to be getting revenge on a certain stoic boy… "Now, Kai always leaves his balcony window open, and he's a really light sleeper. Although in some occasions, he'll let himself sleep deeply." After giving them pointers, Dizzi stood in front of a door, where there is a carved phoenix etched on the wooden door. "Well, here we are. Luckily Kai goes to the library to relax for a bit before going to bed. Now come on."

Dizzi opened the door and revealed the most elegant bedroom so far in the castle, well besides Rei's of course. The room has a rich coloured red ruby rug with golden linings on the side. A four-poster bed with royal blue bed sheets, and on the other side of the room was a big birdcage, and a big closet.

Both Bryan and Rei looked at the room with amazement. "Wow…it's so nice," Rei whispered.

Dizzi chuckled. "Too bad the owner of the room isn't. Anyway, let's put all these things outside the balcony. That way he won't suspect a thing." Both boys pushed the barrel until it was on the side of the balcony railings, while Dizzi placed the sacks right beside it.

"Wait…how would the feathers look pink?" Rei frowned slightly.

"Wait, I have an idea," Bryan said as he went outside the room.

Rei looked at his surroundings, until he noticed the birdcage. "So, Hiwatari has a pet bird?"

"Not just a pet bird, he has a phoenix. They're very rare; it was a gift from Kai's father when he was little. Although I don't think Dranzer has ever been inside that cage yet." Dizzi explained.

"OK, I'm back." Bryan was carrying another sack, though it was quite bulky and heavy, unlike other 2 sacks of feathers.

Dizzi looked at the sack curiously. "What's that?"

"Well, I went to the kitchen and asked if there's some kind powder or liquidy stuff that would turn something into another colour and they gave me this." Replied the lilac-haired boy as he opened all three sacks. "Now, all we need to do is sprinkle the powder inside the other two sacks and shake 'em, then voila! Pink feathers."

The dark-violet eyed girl looked at them amazingly. "Are you guys like some kind of natural pranksters, or something?"

Rei grinned at her. "Nah, not me. But Bryan is."

The next day, a rooster cry entered Kai's room, making the slate-haired boy open his eyes. Kai got out of bed and yawned. Rubbing his eyes so he could focus his sight, he noticed that there's something stuck on his legs, arms, and his whole body! He looked at the mirror and saw himself in disbelief.

"WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?!?!"

**Crystal: **There we go! Hehe…poor Kai…no wait, actually he deserved that one. 

**Kai: **-grumbles- ¬¬

**Crystal: **XD Oh, can it Mr. Hahaha you're so gullible! You deserved that one for making Rei hurt his bum!

(1) - Ah, the Smile of Death by Rei Kon. I don't actually knew why I made that… --;;

(2) - OK, the Trusting Game…that IS what it's called, right? oO

**Crystal: **Can anyone guess what happened to, Kai? –smiles mischievously- Gah, you people probably know…there was a dead give away there. --;; Now, I'm off! Don't forget to R&R! Bye!


	9. Insults and Pranks galore! Part III

**Crystal: **Hi everyone! =D I don't have time to write the responses so I'll just do this:

**Thanks to: **Devlinn Reiko-sama, StarryNightObsession, Bluumberry, lonephoenix1, devilburns, Game-kid17, Raku Ozzarian princess, Enelya Aldarion, White Spirit Angel, Kodoku Wolf, Tariki Rania, Platinum Rei, BloodMistress, Raven-Deathstar, Shaka Dragomir Noctornus, Keisan, Killua Bakura, SoulSister, Jirachi, lokisash, xXmizz-pnayXx, IndigoDeath666, Keri Hiwatari, Songs make me cry, HimekoSukie, wolf whirl, Akari Angel, and kai-cutie-angel!

**Crystal: **-.-;; yes…I know, I'm such a lazy ass for not writing you guys a response. But actually there shouldn't ANY chappy 9 right now because of my homework, but a miracle came through and I finished my homework with all the busy schedule that I had. Anyway as a BIG, BIG thank you, free Mars Bars™ for EVERYONE!!!!! =D Now, on to the ficcy!

**Disclaimer: **GO CHECK THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS!!!!

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**Breathe – Chapter 9: Insults and Pranks galore! Part III**

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!" Kai walked towards where the mirror was standing. As the slate-haired boy was right in front of the mirror, all he could see was a figure covered with pink feathers stuck with a sticky substance.

"Kai, WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!?!" Tyson barged into the room with a pissed off yet sleepy look on his face. "Can't a guy sleep in, or something!?!"

"Tyson, would you get out of here?!" Kai yelled back, with his crimson eyes glaring ever so slightly at the bluenette.

Tyson ignored the yell and yawned while rubbing his eyes. He blinked once, and blinked again until he saw a tall figure covered with pink feathers from head down straight to toe. Kai saw this happen and slammed his own hand onto his forehead. The stoic boy walked towards the younger boy, the bluenette noticed this and started to scream his head off.

"Aaahhhhh!!!!!!!!" Tyson started to back away, making himself tumble down into his own butt. "Would you shut the hell up!?!?!" yelled Kai, making the other boy start begging for forgiveness.

"PLEASE, MR. WHOEVER YOU ARE, DON'T EAT ME!!!! I'M TOO FAT, AND FULL OF CALORIES!!!" Tyson kneeled, still screaming his head off. "TALA! DIZZI! THERE'S A GIANT PINK CHICKEN WITH BLOOD SHOT EYES AND IT SWALLOWED KAI WHOLE!"

In an instant, both Tala and Dizzi came running down to Kai's room gasping and panting for air. Once they've started to breathe normally, Tala looked at the feathered Kai and started to laugh like a hyena getting tickled. On the other hand, Dizzi didn't find this funny at all, well on the outside anyway. Inside, she was ready to burst out laughing until her lungs have popped like a balloon that has too much helium inside. She was definitely would want to come and congratulate Rei right this minute. Oh, and how could she forget Bryan? After all he was also the one who made it all happen. Anyway, Dizzi walked over to Tyson and tried to comfort the poor boy.

"Shhh…there, there Tyson," the dark-violet eyed girl patted Tyson on the back. "It's ok, it's just Kai…although he's covered with pink feathers…he's still the cold hearted guy we all know and love."

Hearing this, Tyson stopped screaming and begging for forgiveness, and stared at the pink "bird" right in front of him. He noticed the cold crimson eyes and realized that it **is** Kai. At first the bluenette just said 'Oh' and in a nanosecond, he started laughing his guts out and joined Tala on the floor, who's still laughing like a tickled hyena.

"Come on you two," Dizzi muttered while rolling his eyes. "I think Kai would like to uh…sort out his feathers?"

Once again, both Tala and Tyson started laughing their butts off like there's no tomorrow. Kai on the other hand, was not enjoying the situation at all. The crimson-eyed boy just kept on scowling and dragged the laughing boys out the door with Dizzi following him. "We'll see you later, Kai!" Dizzi called out cheerfully while Kai just slammed the door.

Kai, who was utterly pissed almost, broke the door when he slammed it, he didn't even see Dranzer flew inside the room until she started to give a cry to get his attention. "Dranzer…did you see who was in here last night?" asked Kai, while he went by his bathing things and started to scrub the feathers out of him.

Dranzer just cocked her head to the side, meaning 'What do you mean?' Kai just sighed and continued scrubbing his arms. Surprisingly, none of them were coming off! Kai tried using his hands now, and started to pluck the feathers off him one by one. With the first pluck…it hurt like hell, though to Kai he tried to ignore it. Oh boy…it was going to be a long morning…

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"Where are they?" asked Tyson as he took a seat by the plush cushioned chair, patting his stomach indicating that he had a very nice breakfast.

"I told you…they went for a walk by the woodlands," Dizzi said one more time, sighing exasperatedly.

What Tyson and Dizzi were talking about is that Rei, Bryan, Max and Kenny were taking a walk to the woodlands, well more like Max dragging them all for some reason. "Well, now that they aren't here, let's talk about something private, hm?" Tala said, trying to make the conversation more interesting.

"Like what?" Dizzi asked in confusion while Tyson just kept on patting his stomach.

"Well…Tyson for one thing," Tala trailed off, making Tyson stopped patting his stomach and look at Tala in confusion. The red headed boy just grinned and said, "About how he tries to impress the little blond."

Tyson heard this and glared at the other boy, his cheeks were starting to have a red tint. Dizzi found this very amusing so she decided to add in a little something as well. "Now that you mentioned it…I notice that too. So Ty, got something to say for your defence?" she said making Tala chuckle.

"No! I mean, Yes! I mean..urgh…" Tyson glared at them, crossing his arms by his chest and sunk into the chair. "You people are too mean…"

Dizzi smile cheerfully. "We're not THAT mean, Tyson. It's the truth ANYWAY!" Tala stood up and walked towards the window. "What do you know…the kitten and his friends are outside," he mused, while motioning the other two to come and have a look.

"Wonder what they're doing…" Tyson had asked while scratching his head. "Want to go down and see?" he asked, while Tala and Dizzi nodded with agreement.

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Kai looked in front of the mirror and saw himself with no feathers whatsoever. It took a good, five hours just to scrub those bitchy things off and of course he succeeded, only to have known that it was quite painful to take off, since the pancake syrup has dried on his body. As an aftermath, there were red marks on his arms, neck, and forehead from all the plucking and scrubbing that he did.

Thinking of a perfect way to kill his _fiancé _he went to the balcony to think. 'Maybe colour his hair…nah too easy. Hmm…maybe shave his tiger's fur? Nah, that feline would scratch my skin,' Kai kept on thinking until he saw Rei and his friends walking out of the woodlands.

"Hey you!" the crimson-eyed boy yelled over the terrace making the neko-jin look at him. "Hey Kai!" Rei yelled with a eerie, sweet voice, making Kai, Bryan, Max and Kenny shudder. "How come you have red spots?" The neko-jin asked curiously.

Kai glared at him, and jumped over the ledge of the balcony, landing down on his feet. "Why ask the question, when you have the answer to it?!"

Rei frowned at the boy in front him, while Bryan just tried to hide the smirk that was forming into his lips. "What do you mean I have the answer to it? Oh, and I'm impressed at the thing that you did, Kai-kai!" The raven-haired boy shuddered inwardly at name he gave his fiancé. And of course he perfectly knew what Kai was talking about, after all he was the one who made it all happen, besides Bryan. He was just toying with the slate-haired boy, that's all.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! And yes you have the answer to it, since you're the one who did it!" Kai gave the neko-jin with his death glare of doom, although he was slightly surprised that Rei was actually immune to it.

"Accusing people of doing something that they didn't do is bad, Kai," Tala said, while Tyson and Dizzi were walking with him towards the others. "You don't have anything to do with this, Tala." Kai turned his glare towards on one of his best friends.

"Oh, is this about that pink feathers thing?" Tyson's naivety didn't come at the right time, before Kai could beat the bluenette up, Max (who was on sugar high at the moment) interrupted him. "WHAT PINK FEATHERS? OH! DID THE FEATHERS COME TO LIFE AND TRIED TO EAT KAI?" the blond cocked his head to one side with an index finger on his cheek.

At this moment, everybody sweat dropped while Bryan muttered something about people and sugar don't go together. Kai glared at hyper boy and said, "NO ONE, tried to eat me, Mizuhara! It's your friend's fault why I'm utterly pissed right now!"

"He's always pissed," Dizzi murmured solemnly, though Kai didn't heard it.

Now, Rei gave Kai a deadly look. "What do you mean I made you angry, YOU'RE ALWAYS ANGRY!" The neko-jin crossed his arms over his chest, eyes slowly turning into slits.

"Haha…yeah like that's true. Don't lie to me, Kon. I **know **that you somehow did this." Kai taunted Rei as he gave the other boy his infamous smirk.

Kenny sighed, oh boy. Another argument…it's like de ja vu, no? Anyway, Tala suggested the others to sit on the grass if they don't want to be part of the upcoming verbal fight. Everybody obliged, while Rei and Kai were the only ones who were standing up, ready to explode any second.

"Do you even have **any** proof that I somehow came into your room, and pour feathers on you for no reason?"

"I don't need any proofs, cat boy!"

"I have a name! It's Rei and use it!"

"You can't make me!"

"Hah, fine then…if you call me cat boy, then I'll call you…uh…"

Kai gave a triumphant smirk. "Haha…like what, sweetie?" By the time that he realized that he said that, Kai widened his crimson eyes. He couldn't believe how, or why that word came out from his mouth. The stoic boy noticed that Rei widened his eyes too, with those slits of eyes going back to normal.

"You want Rei to call you that, Hiwatari?" asked Bryan incredulously, while the rest of them just gawked at the thing that Kai said.

Kai scolded himself inwardly and regained his composure by sending a retort back the lavender-haired boy. "Hah, I was being sarcastic, you idiot. As if, I would like cat boy to call me that." He looked back at Rei and saw that those slits were coming back in those golden orbs.

"Then I'll call you bird brain then, you bird brain!" Rei shrieked as he heard, Max, Tyson and Tala laughed their butts off until the next millennia, while the rest were stuffing their fists to stifle their laugh.

"Hah, unless I cut that tongue of yours off, then I guess you wouldn't be able to talk now, would you?" Kai threatened the neko-jin, feeling really pissed off and not noticing Dizzi and Bryan stand up and go behind them. "As if you wo—" Rei didn't finished his sentence since someone's lips was covering his lips into a kiss. It seems like Bryan and Dizzi had finally had enough and pushed those two on their backs, which made them kiss.

Both Kai and Rei widened their eyes in shock when they realized what was happening, although no one was trying to push back. Kai noticed how soft Rei's lips were, and starting to crave some more, while Rei was actually noticing the same thing. To them, it seems that a few seconds (actually its 40.5 seconds) is like an hour, until someone had said something.

"Aww…they look so sweet together!" Max looked at the engaged couple in a dreamy state. After the blond had said this, the two went back into reality, and pulled off from each other.

"Ok…who the hell pushed me into the bird brain?!" yelled Rei while turning his head to his so-called friends.

Everybody except Bryan took a step back, while Tyson mouthed off Kai that Dizzi was the one who pushed him to the raven-haired boy. "YOU TWO ARE SO GOING TO GET IT!" Both Kai and Rei said at the same time, and for the first time, the two didn't actually argue about it, since they're lunging at their best friends. The rest saw this and started to run right inside the castle.

"Arggghhhhh…I swear to god, when I get my hands on Bryan, he'll never know what hit him!" Rei said, while his fangs were starting to appear. "Tell me about it…" Kai muttered, both noticing that they actually agreed on something.

Meanwhile, Bryan, Dizzi, Tala, Kenny, Max and Tyson were running like hell away from their best friends. Apparently, that was a part of some plan to get them together faster. Everyone was so impatient about it, and so the adults told them right before they left that they have to get the other two together faster, although they have to be discreet and help little by little.

"Good job you guys," panted Tala as he ran. "Those two really craved for something, and it's only one kiss!"

Kenny nodded in agreement, "I know! You guys really did a great job!" Dizzi blushed slightly while Bryan just smirked smugly. "You're forgetting who am I, Kenny," the lilac-eyed boy said. "Now, phase two. You ready Max? Kinomiya?"

"We were born ready, Bryan!" Tyson said. "Now you guys hide now, or you'll be dead meat!" With that, Tyson and Max stopped running and stayed behind, while the rest kept on running.

"You ready, Freddy?" asked Tyson while Max just look at him in confusion. "Umm…my name's Max," the blond said. Tyson just sweat dropped and told the blond that it was just a figure of speech, while Max just apologized for his stupidness. (**A/N:** aww…Max! Don't be so hard on yourself! **Max:** --**blushes--**)

"Look, over there!" Rei saw a glimpse of blue and blond hair, and noticed that it was Tyson and Max. "Let's ask them if they've seen Bryan or Dizzi." Kai agreed and walked with Rei towards the other two. "Have you guys seen Tokugawa and that other friend of yours?" the crimson-eyed boy said in a monotone voice.

"Yeah, they went over there!" Max pointed towards a brown door to his left. "Both of them were really psyched out so they went into hiding." Kai snorted and started to walk down the corridor where the door was while Rei followed right behind him, after he said this to Max. "Don't point your finger, Maxie. It's rude. (1) " And with that, both boys ran down the corridor and went into the door.

"Mission accomplished!" Tyson yelled while he suddenly hugged Max, who became startled with the action and started to blush, but didn't seemed to mind.

Anyway, meanwhile, Rei heard Tyson yelled something and realized that it was a trap. He went back to the door, and tried to pull it open. He pulled and he pulled but, the door was sealed shut and it won't budge. Kai noticed this and realized, that this is one of the doors that can only be opened from the outside.

"Shit."

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"You think Max and Tyson did their roles perfectly?" asked Dizzi while she joined the others and stopped running.

Kenny suggested that they should check up on the other two so him and Dizzi walked back to corridor, leaving Tala and Bryan all alone. "That was a really brave thing to do, it took guts." The icy blue-eyed boy tried to have a conversation with the other boy.

"Hah, you should see us when we were young," Bryan said, while turning his gaze from the corridor to Tala's blue eyes. "I always make fun of him, 'cuz I thought he was a girl when I first so him."

Tala gave a low chuckle. "Really? Wow…and you actually live through that?" Bryan nodded and walked over to lean on the wall, although he didn't see a folded part of a rug and stumbled onto it, making him fall over Tala…their lips millimetres away from each other…

"You know, it's not nice when you two are planning on doing **it** right here in the middle of the corridor," a girl voice interrupted their moment making Bryan stumbled off away from Tala, while the other boy just blushed, the same colour as his head.

"We weren't doing anything!" Both yelled at the same time, making Dizzi and the others grin more. "Sure…whatever." She said.

"Anyway, mission accomplished!" Max said as he helped Bryan up, while Tyson did the same thing to Tala.

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**Crystal: **There, done! =) oOh…ya know what? I went to the hospital today 'cuz our family friend had a baby, and the baby was girl, and she is so cute!

**Rei: **Really?? Hmm…makes me want to have one…

**Kai: --has a nosebleed and faints--**

**Crystal: **-.-;; Wow…go figure. ANWAY! Hehe…I put some, ahem, Kai/Rei action, and Tala/Bryan action for you people! Hope you like them! =) Oh and Max…was such a party-pooper…

(1) – Heheh…I couldn't resist! My best friend always tell me that when I point at something…

**Crystal: **Now, don't forget to R&R! Ja ne for now, minna-san! --**waves happily--**


	10. Truce?

**Crystal: **Hey everyone! Hmm…I'm alone today, -sighs- Tala went to buy grocery, so here I am all alone…LOL! Anyway, here are the responses! =D

**Songs make me cry:** Hehe…yeah, that baby was so adorable! =) LOL, and yes…every couple is starting to appear…hehe…and you'll have to see how Rei kills Bryan! ;)

**Enelya Aldarion:** LOL, yes…you're quite right. But then again, unless you're really pissed off that your friends locked you in a room with your future lover, you might think up ways on how to kill them and not pay any attention to the other person…whew, thank god my friends didn't try that routine.

**Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus:** Haha…you'll see what happens to them! –smiles mischievously-

**Lady Snowblossom:** LOL, I don't know if Kai or Rei would crack inside the room…although something is going to happen…but you'll have to see!

**Devlinn Reiko-sama:** Hehe…here's another chapter! =)

**IndigoDeath666: **LOL, I'm glad everyone liked that part! Hehe…here's another chapter!

**Game-kid17:** hmm…it was still harsh? Hehe…don't worry, I'm not going to be mean to Kai anymore. Cross my heart and hope to die (well not really die), and stick a needle in my eye (not really either, lol)!

**Raku Ozzarian princess: **hehe…yeah, I snuck in your comments thingymabobbers…hope you didn't mind! –sweat drops- Anyway, yeah…poor Kai's and Rei's friends…they might not be able to see the couple get married… -shudders-

**Keri Hiwatari:** Hehe…I'm not that evil! And curious about what are they going to do in the room, eh? Haha…you'll just have to find out!

**HimekoSukie:** LOL, yeah…they are unpredictable. Especially Kai and Rei… -shakes head-

**StarryNightObsession:** LOL, are you the one that's curious, or maybe Kai? O.o LOL, and yes, the parents want them to have feeling for each other FASTER! That way, there will be no glitches to the wedding! Besides, hehe…I think they're starting to realized those feeling too, little by little… -smiles mischievously-

**CRaZy NeK0-JiN:** LOL, yeah I know…they FINALLY kissed…after what 8 or 9 chapters? Haha… XD

**Platinum Rei:** Don't worry; I'll make sure there will be more action! =D

**Tariki Rania:** LOL, here's another chapter!

**SoulSister:** Here's another chapter!

**Lokisash:** Thanks! =)

**Jirachi:** Umm…no…Max was pointing with his index finger; although pointing at people is rude…don't know why though… -sweat drops-

**Kai-cutie-angel:** lol, well then, I thank your friend for influencing you to like yaoi! LOL! Anyway, hope you like this chapter!

**Devilburns:** Thanks! =)

**FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high:** LOL, yep…go Rei go Rei! Haha… XD

**Yugi Lover:** LOL, don't worry here's another chapter! =)

**Crystal: **There, now as a reward…Skittles™ for everyone! =D I'm being nice today and give you some of my "Stress relief". LOL! Yeah, that's the only thing that gets me out of stress… -.-;; Anyhoo, on to the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Check…the…previous…CHAPTERS! –glares-

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**Breathe – Chapter 10: Truce?**

"What do you mean 'Shit'?" asked Rei frantically as he stopped pulling the door and stare at Kai with panic in his eyes.

Not too long ago, Tyson and Max had tricked Kai and Rei that Dizzi and Bryan were at the other room hiding away from them. Of course, with such fury and annoyance, the engaged couple didn't think twice at barging into the door. All they could think of is how they were going to kill their friends as soon as possible. But then, when Tyson had finally cracked (well…not really), he somehow yelled a little too loudly making the neko-jin and surprisingly the stoic boy hear it.

"'Shit' means crap, geez…I though you were smart," Kai smirked, although he kicked himself inwardly that it was **not** the time to fool around and insult the other boy. After all, they are stuck on a room, and the door can be only opened outside. Oh how much fun he would have when he gets out of here…

Rei didn't say anything even though he gave Kai a deep glare. He stopped trying opening the door and sat back down, leaning against a wall. Oh, great. Now he's going to spend with the guy he dislikes the most in a room, in how many injustice hours. "Might as well get comfortable, unless you think standing up is," he muttered although Kai heard it perfectly fine.

"Whatever." The crimson-eyed boy said and sat –very surprisingly— right beside Rei, who didn't seemed to mind since his mind was in some other place.

It seemed like hours just sitting down on the ground, and Rei was getting irritated with all of the silence going on. Usually he had someone to talk to, and now…well he does have someone to talk to, but then again, when did this someone be a chatterbox like Max or Kenny?

"I'm bored," Rei huffed while crossing his legs and arms. "Good for you…" muttered the other boy. "Now could be quiet? For once I'm finally having that peaceful time without Tyson yelling around."

Rei smiled inwardly. It's true, Tyson does seems to be the optimistic one besides Dizzi and all he ever hears were the laughs coming from them, even Max's included. "Well, can we at least talk? I'm getting annoyed by all of this silence."

Kai just merely shrugged and asked the other boy what they should talk about. Rei stumbled upon this question and now he's stuck. What should they talk about? Kai was getting impatient at this and started to drum his fingers onto the floor. The neko-jin noticed that and it was irritating him.

"Would you stop that? Not only it's irritating, it's not helping me think of a topic!" Rei slammed his fist unto the floor to get Kai to stop drumming his fingers.

"You're the one who wants to talk, besides I'm getting impatient here with all your thinking!" Kai shot back, with one of his crimson orbs staring at Rei into a cold glare. Rei was about to retort back when he suddenly had the topic and said that instead.

"What are we arguing about? And why are we even arguing?" Kai was surprised at the question. Actually, for him he too didn't know the answer. He also was always wondering why are they arguing like some kind of married couple. "I-I don't know…I guess we're stupid and immature to be arguing while our friends are getting along," The crimson-eyed boy admitted.

Rei was stunned at Kai's question. The raven-haired boy was ready to throw a retort back in case that Kai ignores the question and just insults him. He was even more surprised that Kai was actually…well, actually being civil.

"Huh, well anyway…do you want to start all over? As in with the introductions and all?" offered Rei with a tiny tinge of hope twinkling in his eyes. Kai saw that twinkle and couldn't help but start to get warm feelings over it…

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Meanwhile everything of that was going on with Kai and Rei, the rest of the people were waiting patiently…or maybe impatiently for other people. Kenny was reading a book…again, while Max was just sitting there stealing glances at Tyson once in a while. Tyson on the other hand was trying not to make his stomach grumble…since the last time; Bryan threatened him that if his stomach grumbles one more time…Tyson himself would be the food (of course Bryan's only joking…but then Tyson took it seriously). And since after that incident, Tala and Bryan were just quiet there (except when Bryan had to threaten Tyson), minding to their own businesses, sitting on the opposite sides of the room (they were on the dormitory room by the way) although sometimes they get eye contact every now and then. And Dizzi? Well, she's by the windowsill, looking at the luscious green trees.

"Wonder what's happening there now…" Dizzi wondered, turning her head towards the guys.

Tyson somehow ignored his hunger and snorted. "Would you stop being so impatient? We just locked them in, for like what? 5 minutes?"

"Well, gee…how should I know? It feels like 5 hours!" Dizzi retorted back, crossing her arms over chest, and pouted. "Actually, Dizzi's right, maybe we should check on them?" Kenny looked up from the book he was reading and stared at the rest with curiosity.

Tala rolled his eyes. "Only a complete idiot would do that. You're forgetting that once Kai and Rei get out of that room, in less than a minute we'll be all in pieces? As in, heart, liver, lungs, eyes…" He trailed off, not noticing the grim look Tyson had. "Ugh…watch it people." Tyson stood up from where he was sitting and ran out of the room, looking all green and ready to uh…puke his food out to hearts content.

Max stood up from his seat making everyone look at him with confusion. With a very cheerful smile, he said, "Well, the only ones who aren't Kai's and Rei's 'people to kill' list are Tala and Kenny."

"You're point?" Bryan sat up from his chair with his arms both on the armrests and his eyes have that small glint that no one could portray.

"Well…how 'bout if we wait for a little for all of it to sink in, and then maybe Tala and Kenny could go down there and open the door? After all, we can't keep them there locked in with no food, or maybe worse like… no sugar!" Max widened his eyes, looking all shocked and shiny…like he was going to have a breakdown of tears.

Besides the fact that Max was obviously on sugar high, what he said made sense to the others. Anyway, even though they had made up that, everyone was still bored, except for Kenny who was looking really intrigued at the book he's reading. When Tyson had come back, Dizzi was still looking outside, although the sky was now the colour orange. Max has worn off his hyper-ness and fell asleep on the armchair, which Tyson thought that he looked really cute. Kenny was reading his third book still looking intrigued as ever. Tala looked disappointed, and Bryan was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Bryan?" asked Tyson, plopping back to his regular seat.

"Bryan? Oh, he said something about walking to his bedroom and getting some rest." Tala mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. 'Why bother going back to your room and just sleep there? I want to see you sleep peacefully…like how Tyson is doing now to the little blond puppy,' the icy blue-eyed boy thought inwardly, while smiling slightly when he saw Tyson looked at Max with a lot of affection in his eyes.

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Kai looked at Rei with intense eyes. At first he was pretty surprised that Rei had suggested that they should start all over again, but he saw a small glint on those golden orbs that made him all warm and giddy inside.

"Hello? Earth to Hiwatari? Are you going to consider my question or not?" Rei crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks out slightly. 'Why isn't he answering? Does he really hate me so bad that I'm not even considered as a person to talk to?' Rei thought, disappointment quickly hovering his face.

The crimson-eyed boy suddenly noticed the disappointment in the other boy's eyes and started to feel guilty, which made him surprised even more. He hardly even feels guilty to anyone, so why start now? Anyway, he had enough of the disappointment, and made Rei have his way…only just this once.

"Look, unless you kept on calling me 'Hiwatari' then we wouldn't go anywhere, hm?" asked Kai, pretending to be not interested, even though he was.

Rei looked at Kai, the disappointed look in his eyes was withering away, but instead confusion was appearing. The older boy smirked when he saw this and said, "What, don't believe me?"

"Well, the last time you left me to fall on my ass, remember?" Rei snapped at the other boy. 'And what a very nice ass that was…' Kai mused, until he realized what he thought. 'Where the hell did that come from?!'

Kai gave him a cold glance, "Look, lets just get this over with, and then we don't even have to talk to the rest of the day, alright?"

"Look, sorry for snapping at you, it's just…well, can I trust you?" Rei still looked pretty doubtful at the situation. Well, why can't he? After all…he did fell on his ass… Kai sighed, 'For a calm boy he sure is stubborn.' "Look, what about if we do that Trust game again? If I don't catch you, then…you can do whatever you want, and if **I** catch you, then we would stop this nonsense, alright?" The crimson-eyed boy looked at Rei with an irritated look in his eyes.

Rei looked at Kai and said, "Fine, lets just get this over with…" The neko-jin stood up, and then pulled Kai so the other boy could stand up as well. He walked in front of Kai and turned around to his back would face Kai's front. With one big sigh and a deep breath, Rei let himself fall backwards with his eyes shut tightly. 'Here comes the pain…wait for it, wai—huh?' Rei opened his eyes and revealed Kai looking down at him with a smug half-smile in his face.

Kai had managed to catch Rei with ease and noticed how **light** the raven-haired boy is. Light by meaning, its like he doesn't eat…a lot. "You know, you're way too light. You should eat more like Tyson." The slate-haired boy smirked, while helping Rei stand up.

"Hahaha…very funny." Rei gave him a mocked glare, but then the glare quickly turned to a cheerful smile. "Wow…I'm impressed, you kept to your word! So…truce?" The neko-jin held out his hand, waiting for Kai to shake it, and make it official.

"Heh, whatever. Truce." Kai took Rei's hand and shook roughly. After that, he went back and sat down to his previous spot. He didn't notice that Rei also went back down and sat beside him, until the crimson-eyed boy suddenly felt something land on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw a bunch of ebony hair by his shoulder. "Rei…?" he said, making him quite surprised.

"I see that you're using my name, since you're calling me Rei now…then…I'll just call you…Kai…too…" With one yawn, Rei fell asleep on Kai's shoulder, looking so peaceful and serene.

Kai waited for Rei's word to sink into his mind until it finally clicked. With the slightest hesitation, Kai gently put his head atop Rei's and also fell into sleep.

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"What time is it?" asked Tyson, while playing some cards with Max on the rugged floor. A couple of hours passed and now both Max and Bryan were finally awake from their nap. Kenny was still reading (he's on his 36th book), and Dizzi was watching Bryan and Tala play chess.

"Dinner should be ready in an hour I guess," Dizzi replied, taking her eyes off from the game and into Tyson eyes. "What?! An hour?! But I'm so hungry already…" Tyson pretended a sob while patting his growling stomach making Max giggle slightly.

"Oh hush up, Tyson. You're always hungry; oh, and check," Tala smirked as he his white bishop obliterated Bryan's black queen, and was almost near to the lilac-haired boy's king. Bryan gave the other boy a slight glare and moved his rook (1) forward. "Go, it's your turn," he muttered.

Kenny put down his book down, indicating that he was done reading it, and then asked the rest on something. "Hey…are we forgetting something?" The others looked at the brunette in confusion, until they realized that they left Kai and Rei locked in on the other room, for five hours straight!

"OH, CRAP!" Everyone ran out of the room and prayed that their friends didn't do anything drastic that would make them faint with fear. They ran and ran until they stood in front of the door where they had locked Kai and Rei in.

"Umm…do you hear anything?" asked Max, with his tone of voice full of concern.

Everyone looked at each other, until Tala opened the door. Tyson and Dizzi looked at Tala who just stood there with a very surprised look in his face. It seems like Kai and Rei were still sleeping, with the neko-jin's head on Kai's shoulder, while Kai's head was on top of Rei's head. Max, being the hyper blond that he is, pushed Tala and Dizzi aside, and looked at the sleeping pair.

"Aww…they look so cute together, sleeping like that!" Max squealed a little too loudly, making Rei stir and shift, which also make Kai move as well.

Blinking his eyes slightly, Rei looked at the people who were standing above him, and realized that it was their friends. The raven-haired boy tried to stand up, until he noticed that Kai was still asleep on top of his head. He smiled inwardly and tried to wake Kai up.

"Umm…Kai, wake up," Rei murmured, not hearing Dizzi say, "Aww…now they're on a first name basis, isn't that sweet?"

Kai grunted slightly, until he opened those crimson eyes of his. Blinking twice, he saw Rei looking up to him, while the others were hovering towards them. "What happened?"

"Actually, we're supposed to ask that question. What happened here?" Bryan smirked. Kai and Rei looked the lilac-haired boy in confusion until the previous events happened before they were locked in this goddamned room. Kenny gulped while Max and Tyson were starting to back away…

"YOU FOUR ARE SO DEAD!" Kai and Rei stood up suddenly making Bryan, Dizzi, Max, and Tyson run for their lives, while Tala and Kenny were just standing there, face faulted and sweat dropping.

- **An hour later –**

"You know, this isn't funny." Tyson's stomach grumbled once again, underneath a coil of ropes wrapped around him and the chair he was sitting on. "Can you at least just give me a piece of bread? Or even water?"

Kai smirked and slowly ate a piece of chicken leg, making Tyson even more jealous that he's eating and the bluenette isn't. "Ha, that will teach you not to make a fool of us."

It seems like Kai and Rei managed to punish Max, Tyson, Bryan and Dizzi for what they did earlier in the day. Although they were torturing their friends, on the inside, somehow both of them wanted to thank the others for doing that. Well, except for the kiss of course, although…I think they wanted to thank them for that too…

"Reiiii… please oh please, can I have a piece of chocolate muffins?" whined Max, like Tyson, the blond was also tied to the chair with a coil of ropes. Rei just shook his head. "Sorry, Maxie. You have to sacrifice all your sweets for tonight."

"You're all evil, that even hell spat you back out," muttered Bryan, who was also tied with ropes, although instead of being tied into a chair, he was hanging by the chandelier. Rei just grinned at his cheekily while Kai just gave him a smug smirk.

Tala looked at Bryan sympathetically. 'Now, mental note: never piss both Kai and Rei at the same time. Who knows what they'll do to me.'

"Mmmphhmmhhmp!" Dizzi gave muffled cry. Apparently, her mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth, and she was also tied onto a chair.

"Can't hear you, Diz," Kai drank his goblet of water and looked at her, smugly.

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**Crystal: **O.o Man…are you guys mean to them.

**Rei: **They locked us in a frickin' room! What do you think we're supposed to do? Thank them and tell them to do it next time?

**Crystal: **-being her naïve self- Well, you could have done that. Besides, weren't you and Kai have been waiting to have a LOT of privacy? XD

**Rei: **-blushes- .

(1) – Umm…ok, it that the name of the castle thingy on chess? =S

**Crystal: **Hehe…there we go! Chapter 10 over and done! Don't forget to R&R, bye everyone!


	11. The sniffles

**Thanks to: Bluumberry, Raven Deathstar, Dragonair-Ice Sage, Killua Bakura, Devlinn Reiko-sama, Keri Hiwatari, Lokisash, Keisan, Tariki Rania, Raku Ozzarian princess, Jirachi, crazy nek0-JIN, Pyro, Enelya Aldarion, SoulSister, FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high, KuronekoHikage, Songs make me cry, Devilburns, The Tigris, Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus, IndigoDeath666, Lady Snowblossom, Game-kid17, Kai-cutie-angel, and wolf-whirl!**

**Crystal:** Umm…sorry for my lazy bum again for not giving you guys responses, it's just that, I'm feeling kind of err…depressed, sad, panic-stricken, and worried right now. I'm even surprised that I managed to write chappy 11 right now, go figure. Anyway, as a big, big thank you gift, here are some small glass wolborg, falborg, driger, and dranzer figurines for all of you! Now on with the fic!

**Disclaimer:** You already know what I'm going to say…so why bother say it?

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**Breathe – Chapter 11: The Sniffles**

"ACHOO!" A great sound was heard all over the castle in a rainy/sunny day. It has been at least a week ago since Bryan and Dizzi had made Kai and Rei kiss, since Max and Tyson locked them in the room, and since they made a truce not to hate or prank each other. So far, it had been great; everything was quiet, well except when Tyson and Dizzi argue at something or at err…nothing.

Though, during that week, it seems like everyone had caught a cold, well…more like one by one they did, only to make to others get the cold. The first one who got the cold was Max. Apparently, during that week, the weather was very cold and rainy even though summer was coming soon. The cheerful, hyper boy rushed outside and thought that there was some poor defenceless little rabbit there out in the rain. Though when he went outside, that rabbit the blond thought was –for some reason—a soaked pillow on the ground. Hence, the next day he caught the sniffles and was now lying on the bed, getting some rest.

The next one, who got the sniffles, was Bryan. Oblivious with what happened to his little cheery friend, he went to Max's bedroom and tried to get the younger boy do hand-to-hand combats with him. Max, being the poor sick fellow he is, refused to get out of bed, of course…making Bryan irritated at the same time. The lilac-haired boy threatened to drag Max by his hair all the way down to the training room. By the time Bryan actually makes this threat real, Tala and Tyson had come barging into the room, saving the sick boy out of Bryan's clutches. Of course, the next day, Bryan got the sniffles, and now he's telling EVERYONE that Max gave it to him.

Next one who got the sniffles was Dizzi. She was getting bored during that week, and decided to visit the sick boys. Kenny tried to warn her that if she goes in there she might catch the sniffles along with Bryan and Max. The dark-violet eyed girl shrugged and reassured the brunette that she'll be fine, getting a slight blush from Kenny. Anyway, when Dizzi had gone to see both boys, she found out that it was getting boring too, had gone and fell asleep on one of the lounge chairs in Max's room. When she had woken up, she got the symptoms of the sniffles, and went directly to the infirmary.

And of course, there's ANOTHER one who got the sniffles. Can you guess? Bah, I'll just tell you. It's our very own neko-jin, Rei! Unfortunately, Tyson—being the annoying one—thought that it would be really funny if Rei could get sick too. So of course, he dragged Rei all the way to Dizzi's room and thought that the girl would want some company. Rei, feeling sympathetic that Dizzi's sick and also thought that Tyson would stay with him, agreed and went with the young boy. Poor Rei, instead of having a nice company with his new friends, he got shoved into Dizzi's room, and just had to wait there for at least three hours to let him out (Dizzi was asleep at the time, and Tyson locked the door).

So now, all four of them are sick, except for Tala, Kenny, Tyson, and Kai.

"I'm bored…" huffed Tyson while lying down on the grass. While the other four were sick in bed, the rest are doing whatever they want. The adults aren't back until the next month so there was nothing to do. "Can't we do something fun…or whatever?"

"Not unless you want to be sick, that's _fun_ isn't it?" Tala said sarcastically while throwing rocks at the river. Tyson glared at the other boy and looked at his surroundings. Kenny was leaning against a tree and reading a book, while Kai was sitting crossed legged with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Tyson was ready to look back up at the sky until he saw Driger taking a nap near Kenny.

"Hey! There's Driger!" Tyson sat up and went towards the tiger was taking a nap. Driger, being a watchful feline that he is, sensed Tyson walking towards him and sat up. "Ty…are you sure you know what you're doing?" Tala arched an eyebrow, watching Tyson come closer to the white tiger.

"Of course I know what I'm doing! Why…no wait, never mind…" Once Tyson said that, Driger started to walk towards Tyson, like the tiger found its prey or something, its sly yet cunning at the same time. The bluenette started to back away, while Tala was just watching in amusement. He knows that Driger was just playing with the younger boy, but Tyson was too naïve to notice.

"Right…so you were saying?" asked Tala, while Kai saw what was happening and smirked. Tyson gave them both a glare and kept on backing away from Driger. "I said never mind! Sheesh, anyway, Kenny? Since this is Rei's tiger, and…hehe…you're one of his best friends…uh, a little help?" the younger boy laughed nervously.

Kenny looked up from his book, and then shook his shaggy hair. "As much as I would like to help you, Tyson, the only thing I would suggest is, run. Run away as fast you can." With that, Tyson ran as the speed of light, with Driger following him. Tala laughed his butt off, while Kai kept his smirk on.

"Now that Mr. I'm-so-hungry-all-the-time is gone, we can get on to business," Kai looked at Tala like the other boy grew another head. Kenny closed his book, and went closer where Kai and Tala are.

"Ok, what the deal is happening between you and Rei?" asked Kenny while Tala is nodding his head off. "Yeah, I mean, you guys were actually _flirting_ with each other for the past week, what's up with that?" asked the icy-blue eyed boy.

Kai glared at the two boys, although it was very true. For the past days, before Rei got the sniffles, it seems that the neko-jin and the stoic boy were, ahem…flirting to say at least. One time, when they were eating dinner, Kenny accidentally dropped his spoon and when he went down the table, he saw Kai's and Rei's foot, playing footsies like they actually had been doing it since they met each other.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Tala rolled his eyes. "Hah! Like I'm going to believe that, Kai. It's so obvious, that even the servants know! Can't you just admit one eensy, teensy bit that you're fascinated about your dear neko-jin?"

"Look, Tala. Rei is nothing than but an accomplice to me. Besides, little Minamoto here might have had some hallucinations going on." Kai sneered then went back inside the castle. Kenny frowned and shook his head disappointedly while Tala just smirked inwardly and muttered, "Denial…"

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"ACHOO!" Rei sneezed for the 3rd time in a row. His hair was all out of its hair wrap and his nose was all red because of the cold. The neko-jin looked outside the balcony and saw the sky was clear blue, with no signs of any clouds hovering the sky. 'Ugh…stupid sniffles for making me sick, stupid Tyson for tricking me, stupid whatever that's going on…' Rei thought, while blowing his nose for the last time.

He was about to go and cover himself with a blanket more, when he heard someone come in the door. Rei looked at the wooden door and saw it closed, which made him confused. Who would come in the door, if the doors were closed? Then in a nanosecond, he saw Max, Bryan, and Dizzi sitting at the edge of his bed smiling upon him, even though their faces were sort of pale (well for Bryan, paler).

"Hey Rei! How are you feeling?" asked Dizzi, while Max sneezed again.

Rei gave a small smile and said, "Feeling crappy, like a carriage drove by you or something." Bryan coughed slightly and snorted. "Aren't we all feeling that way…" he muttered.

"So, what you guys doing here? And how'd you come in here in the first place?" Even though Rei was too sick to stand up, he bombarded the others with questions, which made the rest sweat drop.

"Hehe…you probably don't know this, but…they have secret passages here, too like in our kingdom! Isn't that cool or what?" Max, ever so hyper even though he's sick, made Rei slightly optimistic.

"Really? Wow, that's cool," replied Rei.

Dizzi just gave a giggle and told the other boy that once they're all feeling better, she'll show them later the secret passage. "Now, we have other things to talk about, right?" She gave Bryan and Max a look, like somehow they're passing messages just by looking at each other.

"Err…is there anything wrong?" Rei asked, burrowing his eyebrows ever so slightly. "Well, don't mind me to be so bold, Rei, but…what do you think of Kai?" asked Max, crawling over where Rei was sitting and sat beside him.

Rei widened his tired golden orbs slightly. Why would they want to know what he thinks about Kai? Rei thought really hard about the older boy. What does he think about Kai? 'Well, he's cold hearted although he can be really nice at times, also I'll admit he's cute when he smirks…'

"That'll do. Thanks for sharing, Rei-rei!" Dizzi chirped, while sneezing again. Rei widened his eyes even more and started to redden at the bridge of his nose, even though he was already flushed from the fever. He said those things out loud?!

Bryan was supposed to say something, when there was a sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the door. Max put his hand over his mouth while Dizzi motioned the other boys to go back inside the secret passage with her. They knew that they weren't allowed to go out of their bed or else they will be in big trouble. They said their good byes at Rei and right before the door could open, they were out of sight.

Rei looked at his visitor, and saw that it was Kai. Thinking upon what he said—or blurted is the much better term—Rei blushed even more, though you can't really see it since he was already flushed. Kai came in the room to see if Rei is feeling any better, when he saw the raven haired boy looking all red, he couldn't help but think that Rei's even sick than he was before. But we all know that isn't why he's red…oh boy, if only Kai knew…

"Err…are you ok?" asked Kai as he took a seat at Rei's bed. "You're looking redder than before…"

Rei shook his head. "N-no! I'm fine, but what are you doing here? You're going to get sick if you come in here." Kai ignored Rei's rambling and put his hand on the neko-jin's forehead. "You're not that sick…though you're face is really red, are you sure you're all right?" asked Kai, frowning a little bit.

Rei gave him a cheerful smile, "I'm fine! My face is just red because…because of the blankets! Yeah, the blankets! It's really getting hot so yeah…" Kai looked at him doubtfully, though he decided not to push Rei any further. "Well, I just came to check on you, umm…hope you, uh…feel better soon?" asked the slate haired boy, while Rei just nodded. Yep, both boys do feel something…although they can't figure out what…

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"What are you doing?!" Tala yelled, while catching Bryan standing and not on his bed resting. "Are you nuts or something?! You're sick for gods' sakes'! You should be in bed, resting, now go!" He pushed the sick boy back into the bed, where Tala also accidentally falls into the bed with Bryan right under him.

"Errmmm…" Bryan said, getting uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time. He's already admitted to himself that he's feeling something for Tala, although he just thought it only nothing, but then again, it was something. Tala was also feeling the same thing that Bryan is feeling. Although he already accepted it right before he found out.

'He looks so…angelic even though he's sick,' Tala thought. 'Oh what the hell, I can't take this anymore!' With that Tala crushed his lips into Bryan's into a passionate kiss. Bryan widened his eyes and responded back, making Tala moan in ecstasy. He licked Bryan's bottom lip to seek entrance until…

"Bryan?" a voice just came out of nowhere, making Bryan realize that what was happening was all just a dream—or a fantasy more like it. Bryan groaned inwardly, not only that he was sick; he was also hallucinating! He turned around to look at the person who owned that voice and he thought he was going insane. Apparently, the person who said his name was the very same person who he was fantasizing about.

"Are you ok? You looked spaced out there," Tala said while opening the balcony door. "Ah…fresh air, gotta love that. So, how are you feeling?"

Bryan shook his head to get back to reality, and much to his surprise, it worked perfectly. "Crappy, although I can't say that I'm feeling way better than yesterday."

"Hm, well that's good. Ok, now… the healer told me that you need to drink this herbal tea." Bryan saw that Tala was holding this big goblet with something gooey inside it. "Oh no, there is no way in hell I'm going to drink that," Bryan started to back away from Tala.

"But you need to drink this to make you feel better!"

"No! I refuse to drink what looks like watery shit!"

Tala sighed. "Come on, please?" He tried to put on a puppy-dog look and pout so that Bryan would agree with him, though unfortunately Bryan's eyes were shut tight so he couldn't see the puppy-dog look of doom. Tala sighed again, and sat back on a lounge chair. Yep, he would refuse to leave until Bryan takes the gooey stuff.

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**Crystal: **;-; I am so, SO sorry for such a very short chapter…but I'm still feeling err…depressed, sad, panic-stricken and worried still so I can't really focus most of the stuff yet. Although, I hope you guys like the Kai/Rei, Tala/Bryan moments. I promise, I'm putting Ty/Max in the next chappy along with Diz/Ken! Umm…hope you guys will forgive me for the short chapter and please don't forget to review! =) Your reviews always cheer me up, and then maybe I'll be cheerful again! Well, ja ne minna-san!


	12. Realization

**Crystal:** WOW, 207 reviews?! I never thought this fic would never reach that!

**Kai:** -.-;; Neither did I…

**Crystal:** --glares— Never mind…anyway! Here are the responses!

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**FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high:** --smiles cheerfully-- Don't worry! I'm feeling a LOT better now!

**Lokisash:** -.-;; Yeah…I know it was a short chapter…and therefore I am **really** sorry.

**Devlinn Reiko-sama:** Hehe…here's the next chapter!

**SoulSister:** Yeah…I feel bad for those people who got sick too…

**IndigoDeath666:** Aww…thanks for the waffle! –hugs— Hehe…I'm feeling a lot better now, and the waffle helped!

**Crazy nek0-JIN:** Lol, glad you liked that TB moment! And yes…Kai and Rei were playing footsies… --rolls eyes—

**Kodoku wolf:** Yes…Rei admits Kai's cute…hehe…

**Platinum Rei:** Thanks for the review!

**Jirachi:** Hehe…glad you like the part where Rei thinks of the stupid thoughts! LOL, are you ok? You've been getting yourself hurt a lot…hehe…oh and don't worry, even if you break one of the figurines, I can always give you another one! –smiles cheerfully—

**Kai-cutie-angel:** No…I didn't get to go to anime north…but anyway, how was it? Hehe…and no…I don't know what's a dwarf's favourite food either…care to tell me?

**Wolf whirl:** --gulps— Your not serious about the "die" part right? –laughs nervously—

**KuronekoHikage:** Hehe...get your mind out of the gutter! LOL! Anyway…Hahaha…yeah, he must drink the gooey stuff if he wants to feel better…

**Killua Bakura:** Thanks for the review!

**Dead yet a love sick puppy:** LOL, yes…the puppy dog eyes of doom… --laughs—

**The tigris:** Hehe…but Bryan has to drink it to make him feel better though! Haha…oh well, then! –smiles cheerfully—

**Tariki Rania:** I know poor Bryan…hehe…

**Yugi Lover:** Aww…thanks for the candies! –smiles cheerfully— The guys say thanks too!

**Raku Ozzarian princess:** Hope you get this update right on time!

**ManHattaN:** Don't worry, I'm not going to take it as flame! You were only trying to help me, so that's what matter! –smiles cheerfully— As a reward, you get some Ice Popsicle!

**Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus:** Glad you like the chapter!

**Siver-eyes Magician Girl:** Thanks for the review!

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**Crystal: **There! As a reward you all get Kai and Rei plushies! Hehe…anyway, here's the chappy!

**Disclaimer:** I plus Beyblade equals Do Not Own!

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**Breathe – Chapter 12: Realization**

It has been two weeks since Rei, Bryan, Max, Dizzi has caught the sniffles, it has been a week since Kai, Tyson, Tala, and Kenny had caught it from them. So, all in all, everyone had caught it, and now everyone's feeling better, which is a very good time because the adults—who went away for a couple of months to prepare the big wedding—will be back right to this very day.

"Are they back yet?" Tala asked Dizzi as he approached her by the balcony. Dizzi gave one of her best friends a stern look. "If they're back, then I would have probably came in and yell so loud that the castle would collapse right?" she asked him back.

Tala chuckled and agreed. Silence crept upon the two, making both rather impatient for their parents and the rest of the adults back home. Boy, they were sure taking long! Dizzi went back inside, grabbed a couple of chairs, and dragged them out of the balcony making Tala look at her curiously. The dark-violet eyed girl noticed this and smiled.

"Well, since waiting in silence is **so** boring, I figured we could sit down and chat," she explained while Tala just nodded his head. "What do you want to talk about then?" he asked.

Dizzi went to her thinking position and thought of a topic, until something stirred and made her grin like a psychotic person. "Well, here's one thing that I don't know…Tala, I've known you ever since we were in our diapers…" she trailed off.

"Where is this conversation heading?" Tala raised his red brow his curiosity growing every second. "…What I mean is, are you falling for someone?" Dizzi finally had asked, amused that Tala still has this aura when they were little kids. Tala widened his eyes and tried to regain his composure.

"What do you mean?" was his only response.

Dizzi gave Tala a smile yet reassuring smile. "You know what I mean, Tal. I may not be a great observant like you or Kai, but I can surely know when one of my best friends falls for someone…very hard. So, who's the lucky guy?"

Tala could feel heat radiating from his cheeks. To tell you the truth, he doesn't know either if he was falling for someone, although every time he sees him, his heart would leap for joy or if he isn't careful, he might even just hug him out of nowhere for no reason at all. Tala closed his eyes for a brief second and when he closed those eyes of his, all he could see is someone with lilac hair and lilac eyes…watching him closely like a falcon with its prey…

"Tala?" Dizzi's voice brought Tala back to reality and that made him open his eyes again. "You still haven't answered my question, Ivanov. Who's the lucky guy?"

Tala opened his mouth, and before he could answer, someone has interrupted him. This someone has lilac hair and lilac eyes and he was watching Tala like a falcon with its prey…

"What lucky guy?" Bryan, being an interrupter, came out the balcony with Max in tow. It seems like these two had finally got a chance to do their martial arts, and now they're back all tired and exhausted.

Tala blushed slightly and looked away at the other boy, pretending to look for a sign that the adults' carriage is somewhere in sight.

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"C'mon," pant. "Punch harder, Kenny!" Rei dogged Kenny's attack by crossing both his arms and then elbowed the brunette by the stomach. It seems that Max and Bryan weren't the only ones who did their training. Rei and Kenny were in the grassy fields since it was a very sunny day, and thought they could use some training, especially Rei, since being cooped up in a stuffy bedroom for week all sick was no fun.

"I **am** punching hard!" Kenny gave a swift kick by Rei's legs although Rei jumped over them and then gave the smaller boy a kick in the stomach again, making Kenny sat on his bum. "Damn, that was a hard kick, Rei!" he groaned while clutching his stomach.

Rei just gave Kenny a small grin. "Thanks for the compliment, Kenny! That's enough for today, what do you think?" Kenny just nodded and walked with Rei back inside the castle, meeting Tyson on the way.

"Hey you guys! Whoa…what happened to you two? You got attacked aren't you?!" Tyson went all frantic when he was Kenny and Rei coming inside the castle, their clothes were dirty and kind of ripped in some areas and mostly of Rei's hair were out of their bind.

Kenny sweat dropped while Rei tried to reassure the bluenette that they weren't being attacked. Though Rei was trying to tell Tyson that, the younger one doesn't seem to listen very well. The bluenette keeps on saying are they all right, who did such and such to them, etc etc. Rei was getting irritated and before he could smack him upside down, Kai had gotten to him first—meaning that he smacked Tyson upside down instead of Rei.

"Tyson, what the hell are you doing?" Kai glared at the younger boy, while Tyson was rubbing his head because of the smack. "Geez, Kai, what does that for?! You should be worried ya know! Rei and Kenny got attacked by some hoodlums!" Tyson had said, waving his arms like a squid.

Rei kicked himself inwardly when Kai's eyes turned from annoyance to anger, more annoyance, and what's this…concern and worry? "What do you mean they got attacked?" Kai turned to Rei and Kenny and saw that their clothes were slightly torn, their faces were full of dirt, and mostly of Rei's hair was out of its bind. Kai frowned at the sight. "What happened?"

Rei sighed exasperatedly. "We **didn't** get attacked by some hoodlums! Since I was sick for god knows how long, I figured I could use some martial arts training and Kenny accompanied me since Bryan and Max were already finished with their routines!"

Kai just nodded at the explanation, although he couldn't help but worry that _his_ Rei was in—wait, did he just call Rei his? The crimson-eyed boy shook his head inwardly and then glared at Tyson who was trying to sneak away. "And where exactly do you think you're going, Kinomiya?"

Tyson turned around and laughed nervously. "Ehehehe…I'm going to look for…Max, yeah! That's right, I'm going to look for him!" And with that, Tyson started to run with the speed that even light couldn't surpass, leaving Kai, Rei, and Kenny: one with a scowl, one with a sweat drop, and another one with a sweat drop.

"Anyway, are you sure you're ok?" asked Kai he tucked in some of Rei's hair by the neko-jin's ear. Rei just nodded, and started to blush slightly. Unbeknownst to the phoenix and the tiger, Kenny was still there looking at them, with a smile of understanding; even though it was a really cute and adorable moment, the brunette just had to end it all by coughing.

"Umm…I'm really sorry to interrupt, but…aren't we suppose to get ready for the arrival of your parents or grandparent?" he asked, making Kai and Rei avoid their eye contact and made them look in either the ceiling or the floor. "Oh, right. We better get ready…well, we'll see you later, Kai," Rei replied, giving Kai a small smile then beckoning Kenny to walk with him.

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"You saw what?" Dizzi asked Kenny for umpteenth time since he'd told her about the affection that Kai was giving to Rei earlier, and now he'd kind of regretted it now. The brunette gave an exasperated sigh and explained to Dizzi what he saw earlier. Finally, Dizzi had stopped asking: "You saw what?" and started to squeal in delight. 'Finally some action! And he did it in his own will too!' Dizzi thought happily, while smoothing the creases in her dress.

Kenny, somehow reading her thoughts, agreed with her that both of their friends are slowly falling for each other day by day, and also giving affectionate signs to one another.

"I heard that you also take martial arts with Max, Bryan, and Rei," Dizzi tried to continue the conversation while Kenny making a pathetic attempt to smooth his shaggy brown hair. "Yeah, I do," he replied.

"I never knew that," Dizzi giggled slightly. "I've always thought that you're more of a silent just watching them train kind of guy, since…"

"Since I read at least 36 books a day?" Kenny finished her sentence. Dizzi blushed in embarrassment although Kenny doesn't seem to be quite insulted. "Don't worry about that, other people thought that too." His chuckle always seems to soothe her…like a lullaby.

Dizzi shook her head and gave Kenny a cheerful smile. "Anyway, we better get ready, hm? The adults are coming any minute now so might as well be out there waiting." And with that, Dizzi dragged Kenny out in the fields, waiting for the adults' return.

Meanwhile, Tyson and Max are already outside, waiting rather impatiently. The blond was sitting down on a bench, drumming his fingers in a rhythmic beat, while the bluenette was pacing back and forth, creating path for him in the dirt.

"Ty, please stop pacing, it's making me dizzy," pleaded Max, while also throwing in his puppy-dog eyes look for effect. Tyson gave in and sat right beside him. "So, what's up with you lately?" asked Tyson, while looking at the clear, blue sky.

"What do you mean?" asked Max, with confusion written in his eyes. Tyson just laughed quietly, while telling the other boy that he was just bored and impatient at waiting. Max just nodded, and once again, silence took over them until Max asked Tyson a very simple yet innocent question.

"Do you like someone?"

Tyson looked at the crystal, blue eyes with his own eyes. He couldn't help but be dumbstruck at the question. Of course he likes someone! And that someone is sitting right beside him, eyes as clear as the sky, and face as innocent as an angel. Though he couldn't bear to tell him that, no…

"Yeah, I do like someone. Although I don't know if they like me back," Max felt a pang in his chest. The guy that he likes, likes someone else… Tears were welling up inside Max's eyes, although he tried to smile through the frown that was forming in his face. "Oh, I see. I hope they will like you back." He almost choked as he said those words, but Tyson being a naïve boy right now, didn't notice that Max was in pain.

"Yeah, I just hope that they will be able to return them," Tyson replied.

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"They're here!" Dizzi cheered, while dragging Kenny and Tyson to the carriages. They rest just stayed behind, walking slowly towards the carriages. Rei noticed that Max wasn't being his cheery self, and it made the neko-jin surprised that Max was actually…quiet.

"Max, is something wrong?" he whispered to the blond so that Bryan wouldn't here it. To tell you why Rei didn't want Bryan to know its because, the lilac haired boy is overprotective of Max, like an older brother. Max shook his head and gave a fake cheerful smile. "I'm fine, Rei. Don't worry about me."

Rei frowned. "Your fake smiles don't fool me, Maxie. I know something's bothering you." With that, he dragged the blond to the carriages, leaving Kai, Tala, and Bryan alone.

"So…how's Rei?" Bryan smirked, while Tala was watching in amusement because Kai almost tripped on a VERY, TINY rock that you can hardly see. "I don't know what you're talking about." Kai glared at the two and crossed his arms together.

"Don't fool us, Hiwatari. Kenny told us that **you** showed a sign affection towards my best friend an hour ago; and believe me, Kenny doesn't lie," Kai was trapped and for once, he was speechless.

"Wow…you actually made Kai speechless! I'm impressed," Tala patted Bryan on the shoulder and gave him a peck on the cheek. Bryan widened his eyes, while Tala started to regret what he did; while, Kai saw the whole thing and started to smirk.

"Now look who's talking about giving affections."

"Mother! Father!" Rei gave Lady Leila a great big hug while he gave his father a great big handshake. "You're back!"

"We've missed you, Rei." Lady Leila said softly. "So, how's everything here while we were gone, hm?"

"Everything was great your Majesty," Bryan had said while him, Tala, and Kai were finally by the carriages. "Ah, so that would mean?" Lord Rai was trying to imply on something.

"Oh! Yes, everything went perfectly according to plan," Dizzi said enthusiastically, as she came walking towards them arm in arm with her father.

Kai and Rei looked at them with confusion written in their eyes. What plan? Sir Ivanov must have read their minds and chuckled. "Don't worry," he replied. "We will discuss this inside the castle, alright?"

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As promised, the advisors had told Kai and Rei about their plan about getting them to be together. With the trust game, the kiss, even the locking of the room! Everything made sense to the both of them now! Both thought that they did a very good job, it really worked out very well, although neither of them were really not in the stage of loving one another, but they were really getting there.

"Anyway, we have already prepared the wedding, so all of you need to know the information and we also have rehearsals," explained Judy. "What do you mean, rehearsals?" asked Bryan, while Dizzi just rolled her eyes.

"Rehearsals, meaning that we have to practice on how to walk on the aisle and stuff," Dizzi had explained earlier, while giving Bryan a kick on the shin under the table. Bryan glared at her and rubbed his poor little shin.

"Dizzi's right, we only have about at least one and half months left until the big wedding, so we have to be really prepared," said Lady Leila, while tears are forming in her eyes. "Oh, my dear Rei is growing up so fast!" She gave him a tight hug, not planning to let go.

"Mother! I can't breathe!" Rei was turning blue, by the time his mother had let go of him. "Oh, sorry, sweetheart. Oh dear, I almost forgot! Rei, your father and I have a surprise for you." Lady Leila had said.

"Really? What is it?" Rei suddenly became ecstatic. As you can see, the our dear neko-jin loves getting surprises, although I'm not really sure he would like this one… Anyway, Lady Leila looked at her husband for approval, and when Lord Rai nodded she turned to Rei and said, "Ok, here goes. Guess what? You're cousin's going to be here!"

Rei blinked. "Err…which cousin?" He turned to Bryan, Kenny, and Max; their eyes were wide and full of either annoyance, or fear. Until he realized that he knows what cousin was it that's coming here, he didn't wait for his mother's reply because well…because Rei fainted.

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"Is he ok?"

"What the heck happened anyway?"

"Shh! He's waking up!"

Rei stirred and opened his eyes grudgingly. When he had opened his eyes, he saw figures hovering over him and realized that it was his friends, and their eyes were full of worry and concern. "What happened?" he asked, while sitting up slowly.

"You fainted, if that's what you mean," Tala said dryly while handing Rei a glass of water. After the raven-haired boy had chugged down the water, Dizzi gave him a huge hug, twice as tight as his mother did. "Oh Rei! You scared us half to death! You almost gave you mother a heart attack! Are you all right? You need to lie down? How about a kiss from Kai?"

"Dizzi, I'm fine!"

It took Max and Tyson to pry Dizzi off from the neko-jin while Kenny was patting Rei's back. "What happened? Why did I faint?" asked Rei again.

"Well, when you found out that your "cousin" was coming, you just fainted. I mean, what's wrong with your cousin coming over?" explained Tyson, while Bryan just shook his head.

"You don't understand. That cousin of Rei's is obsessed with him. Every time she comes over, she would glomp on him and squeezes his arm to death! She **literally** worships the ground he walks on, and their cousins for goodness' sake!" Rei paled as Bryan kept on warning their new friends about his cousin.

Unknown to Rei, while Bryan was explaining it to them, a pair of crimson eyes are starting to have a look of emotion on them. Not annoyance, not irritation, and certainly not a pissed off look. It was a jealousy kind of look. Kai was getting jealous of Rei's obsessed cousin!

"Although, I think Rei would be fine…" Tala said, making Max look at him in confusion. It seems like Tala has caught Kai's look and the icy blue-eyed boy was beginning to understand what that meant. "What do you mean?" asked the blond.

"You'll see," Tala just smiled mysteriously. "What I don't get, is why is she coming here," Kenny said, while pacing back and forth. "There's no logical explanation for that."

"Actually…there is," Max spoke up, though he said it quietly. "What do you mean there is?" asked Kai, rather harshly, making Tyson glare at him for yelling at Max.

"Umm…well, I accidentally overheard my mother, Lord Rai and Lady Leila talking about who would be like the bridesmaid and such and such…and I heard her name." Max explained. Rei groaned and started to shake Bryan uncontrollably.

"Bryan! Don't make see her! DON'T MAKE MEEEE…!!!"

"Rei, stop shaking me!"

"SHUT UP!" Dizzi yelled at the top of her lungs, which made Rei stop shaking Bryan. "Look, can't we just get a different bridesmaid, Max?" Max shook his head and said that every spot on the list has already been confirmed. "Ok…then, we'll just have to deal with it. Rei, I guess you just have to hide until your wedding."

Before Rei or anyone could answer, there was a BIG! slam on the door and in came a girl or preferably Rei's dear cousin came in…

"Rei-Rei! IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

…Though Rei didn't get to see her since once again…he fainted.

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**Rei: **O-O I fainted… **twice** –shakes Crystal-- And who is that "girl"?!

**Crystal:** Hehe…you have to find out! SO, my dear reviewers, who do you think is "Rei's cousin"? Although, you guys might kill me if you find out… O-O

**Rei:** --glares— WHO IS IT?!

**Crystal:** --glares back— I'm sorry, Rei. You have to read the chappy to find out! Anyway, don't forget to review!


	13. Rei's cousin

**Thanks to: saber-kon, FORFIRITH-on-a-sugar-high, kat, adi, Ruriko Minamino, Devlinn Reiko-sama, TigerRain a.k.a Tara, Raku Ozzarian princess, Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus, crazy nek0-JIN, Platinum Rei, Sweet Tigress, BloodMistress, kai-cutie-angel, Zoe, dead yet a love sick puppy, Koneko no Rei, Yugi Lover, Keisan, Jirachi, IndigoDeath666, Raven Deathstar, KuronekoHikage, UlTiMaTe KaI LuVa, Shirohikari, Kodoku wolf, the tigris, songs make me cry, devilburns, Shayde Amelia Phoenix, wolf whirl, Enelya Aldarion, SoulSister, Tariki Rania, Killua Bakura, and o Bubbles o!**

**Crystal:** I only have one explanation for no responses. Since all of you guys only have one, and the same question, I'm going to answer it with only one response! Ok? Ok! Now, unfortunately…Rei's cousin is…yeah, _her_. Many of you people might kill me for that, but yeah…although, it would be very nice to see Kai almost being drove to near insane with jealousy, right? LOL! Anyway, as a 'thank you' you guys get, Ice Popsicles! Oh, and how about some Mariah bashing? LOL! Now, on to the fic!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Beyblade, then Mariah would be kicked out of the whole anime and Kai and Rei would be together, right? But, since none of that happened, then that would mean that I don't own Beyblade. –frowns--

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**Breathe – Chapter 13: Rei's cousin**

"Rei-Rei! IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

Kai looked at his fianc's cousin; sure enough it was a girl, preferably the same age as Rei. She has freakishly pink hair that would stand out in the crowd, even in the dark. She's wearing a very pink dress, with pink frills and ribbons; her shoes are also pink, and heck EVERYTHING that she has is pink! Anyway, besides the obsession of pink, she has golden orbs of eyes very much like her cousin. Oh, and did I forget to mention that she's also a neko-jin, very much like her cousin?

"Uh…Mariah, nice to see you again…?" Max gave a nervous laugh, while trying to hide Rei so she wouldn't glomp on him. He gave a look towards Tala and Dizzi to help him hide Rei; both saw the look in his eyes and rushed to his side, trying to cover the unconscious Rei.

Mariah saw how uneasy and fidgety Max is and began to have her suspicions. Her golden eyes narrowed down into slits and walked right in front of Max. "Oh, it's you. Where is _my_ Rei-Rei?" she asked while scanning her eyes from left to right, looking at the new faces she's never seen before.

From the other side of the room, stood Kenny, Bryan, Tyson and of course Kai; they were watching how Mariah treats Max like some kind of inhumane person. Bryan started to snarl silently, muttering how bitchy can this girl get and how she's such a two-faced bitch. Tyson was very surprised at the attitude of this, this Mariah person. At first, he thought that even though she was all obsessed at Rei, she'd be still nice and sweet at the same time. But no…instead, she's verbally harassing Max and treating him like dirt!

"Now, do you believe us how can she be all so…clingy?" asked Kenny, while watching the pink-haired freak interrogate poor Max with questions about Rei's whereabouts. Tyson just nodded silently, while Kai just gave them a look that he really agrees.

From his little "hiding corner", Rei stirred slightly, opening his eyes to check where he was. Blinking once, he noticed that there were at least 3 people trying to cover him from his left side, while four people are watching from the side. Confused by this, he stood up and tapped one from the shoulder. Unfortunately, Mariah, being the suspicious one right now, noticed a bunch of raven hair behind her dear, beloved cousin's friend and noticed that it was Rei!

"Oh Rei! There you are!" The pink-haired freak pushed Tala, Dizzi and Max to one side, and proceeded on giving Rei a death-hug. "Oh I've missed you so much! How come you don't visit me anymore? Write letters to me anymore? Don't you miss me like how I've missed you?"

Rei didn't even get the chance to ask what was happening when the pink furball zoomed pass by and giving him the death-hug attack. The raven-haired boy started to get pale with the lack of oxygen and tried to get help from his friends. Seeing his little plea for help, Kai, who was beginning to **hate** and **loathe** this girl started to pry Rei off from her.

Mariah noticed this and started to protest. "Hey! What are you doing? Can't you see that my cousin and I are having a special bond right now?" Bryan rolled his eyes while walking towards Rei and Kai. "Special bonding my foot…" he muttered, though unfortunately Mariah heard this and snarled at him.

"Oh wow, you're here too? I thought servants weren't supposed to come, but then again…how could I blame you? You're like a poor defenceless dog who needs his poor master anyway…" She gave a mocking laugh towards Bryan's way.

"Why you—," Bryan lunged forward to strangle Mariah, and before he could do some damage, Kenny and Max were refraining him to hurt the girl. "Bry! She's not worth it! Besides, you'll get into trouble with Lord Rai and Lady Leila!" Kenny whispered frantically into the older boy's ear. After hearing what Kenny said, Bryan reconsidered his options and despite the fact that he would to pummel the girl into the ground, he'll get punished for hurting the niece of the Lord and the Lady as a consequence.

Mariah saw this and gave everyone a haughty look, especially towards Kai. "Well? Aren't you going to answer me? I said what are y—"

"I know what you said the first time already," Kai gave her a cold glare making her shiver silently. "Seeing as you're suffocating your **own** cousin, I took this matter into my **own** hands. I can't let you hurt my **own** fiancé, especially right in front of my **own** eyes, you got that?"

Mariah looked at the pair of cold, deep crimson eyes with her surprised, bewildered ones. That is Rei's fiancé? A boy? She thought that Rei would marry a girl! This isn't making any sense to her…especially during now. No matter…however the circumstances maybe, she would make her beloved cousin's fianc's life a living hell, she would make sure of that. Meanwhile, Rei couldn't help but look flustered; Kai was actually being overprotective of him! 'We aren't even lovers…even though we're betrothed to each other,' he thought, blushing every now and then, beginning to get lost in his own little world…

"So, you're Rei-Rei's fiancé? You look more like a steward to me," Mariah gave Kai a threatening glare, saying: 'Back off, you don't deserve Rei, only I do!' Kai paid no attention whatsoever at her pathetic glares; instead he gave her a very much-welcomed insult.

"May I remind you, that you are standing right above of my very own castle, which is a part of the Hiwatari lands? If you don't remember, then listen here wench, you are very lucky to be Rei's cousin, or else you would have been locked up in the dungeon for insulting the heir of the Hiwatari kingdom!" With that, he grabbed Rei possessively by the waist and stormed off the room, leaving their surprised friends and an enraged cousin behind.

"Wow…you know, I can never imagine Kai being all the jealous type…don't you think?" asked Tyson, while Dizzi just started to squeal in delight since that Kai's jealousy makes him show more affection towards Rei in public.

Unbeknownst to them, they had forgotten that Mariah was still in the room looking so raged and humiliated. She walked over to where Tala and the others are, and demanded where did her cousin's barbaric fiancé take him. "Where did he take my Rei?" she crossed her arms, waiting impatiently, tapping her right foot in an off-key beat.

"Even if we know, we wouldn't tell you," Tala muttered darkly, leaving the room with Tyson and Bryan in tow, leaving Kenny, Dizzi and Max with the pink-haired girl.

"Can I ask you something?" Dizzi said in a sickening sweet voice. "Why are you so obsessed with Rei?"

Mariah looked the other girl with annoyance and irritation. "Wow…you must be terribly blind. But, no matter, I shall tell you anyway," she held her head up high like what a snob would do. "Rei and I are cousins as you know by now, if not then you're either dense or just completely stupid. Anyway, when I saw him for the first time I just fell in love with him…not cousin wise, but the feeling that you would have for a lover…and I just know that he feels the same way for me, only that he's very shy at the feeling too…" She twirled twice around the room with a dreamy look in her eyes, daydreaming that Rei was holding her in his arms…

Dizzi looked at her like she was some kind of a mentally challenged person. How idiotic can she get? She thought, while Max and Kenny just shook their heads, feeling sorry for Mariah, even though she doesn't deserve the pity. Right before Dizzi could retort back that Rei would never ever love her like how lovers could, Max and Kenny dragged her out of the room fearing that the pink harpy would eat their heads and disembowel their guts out. So with that, the trio left the room, leaving the pink harpy daydreaming at a dream she would always think that it would come true, although we both know you and I that it would **never**, **ever**, happen in a million years.

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"Umm…Kai? You can let go of me now…" Rei said, while blushing furiously, still being carried by the waist. It seems like it took for an eternity for Kai to register what Rei had said, since he kept on muttering dark curses under his breath until he saw Rei looking at him with his innocent golden eyes, looking like a cute little kitten waiting to be picked up and cuddled with.

"Oh, sorry," Kai apologized silently; a tinge of red is starting to appear and intertwined with his blue shark fins on his cheeks. "Don't apologize, after all you did save me from my clingy cousin's death-hug," said Rei, smiling cheerfully.

Kai just nodded and walked right beside his fiancé, looking all content and satisfied.

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Tala kept on walking towards the courtyard, feeling all pissed and angry. How dare that girl just waltz in here looking like she owned the place? She's just so lucky that his cousin was there, in fact, she was lucky that people were there at all!

"Tala, slow down will you? And DON'T YOU DARE DESTROY THAT TREE! YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME YOU WERE PISSED OFF!" Tyson ran over to Tala, tried to steer him away from the tree, and dragged him towards the stone benches.

"Ok, breathe, inhale and exhale," Tyson was doing a couple of stupid impressions of breathing "unnormally" if there was such a word or he just moves that way. Anyway, those silly impressions made Tala chuckle so they actually helped! Normally, the person would just smack Tyson into the next millennium and back (referring to Dizzi or Kai).

"Tyson please stop that, you look like an oversized chicken that was squirming away to it wouldn't get slaughtered or something," Bryan cried, while trying to cover his poor, innocent eyes, pretending to not notice Tyson at all. "Hmph, fine! I'll go somewhere, where I am appreciated!" Tyson huffed and walked back inside the castle, leaving a humorous Tala and a not-so-amused Bryan.

"What a spoil-sport, I was only kidding," the lilac-haired boy muttered, while sitting right beside Tala who was shaking head and told him that Tyson takes things way too seriously, WAY, TOO, SERIOUSLY. Anyway silence took over and left both boys sitting there, with nothing to talk about. Well, more like on the outside, but on the inside both boys were having a verbal fight with their inner self.

Though, unknown to both youth, that Tyson didn't actually went inside the castle but to an overgrown bush to either go to the bathroom **or** just plain spy at his two friends. You see, everybody, and I mean everybody knows that both Tala and Bryan like each other, though both of them are way too stubborn to admit until the other one admits it first. Anyway, the bluenette was getting rather impatient at the situation. 'Argghh…why won't they talk to each other?! This was a fool-proof plan, isn't it?!' he thought, while his eyebrows were burrowing to closely.

Anyway, back to our favourite people, things still seem to be pretty quiet until, one of them decides that silence was bad for you and for your health, so Bryan got up the courage to summon a weird, awkward conversation. "So…are you still pissed off at Mariah?" the lilac-eyed boy gradually rubs the back of his neck every now and then as a sign of nervousness.

Tala looked at Bryan with an annoyed, yet a cute look in his eyes. "Well, I still am, arrgghh…is she always like that every time she comes over to your castle?" Bryan nodded slightly at the question. "Yeah, that…it pisses me off a **lot**. I swear to Tyson's big fat stomach, if she wasn't Lady Leila and Lord Rai's niece, I would have thrown her out into the fields and made her a serf or somethin'."

From the distant background and into the bushes, Tyson couldn't help but twitch his left eye quite immensely. What does he mean "big, fat stomach"?! He thought, while patting his stomach like it was his pet or something.

Anyway, after Tala had stopped complaining about the evil pink spawn of hell, Bryan thought that it would be a good idea to let all his feelings out in the open, by trying to make him feel all better, so he conjured up an idea inside his sadistic head and began to say it out loud.

"What if I did something…would it make you feel better?" Bryan purred, while suddenly just moved closer to Tala. Meanwhile, Tala just stood there, stunned. What was he trying to do? He thought, while his mind was going out of control. At first, the red headed boy didn't know how to react at the response, although he tried by just using his heart instead of his head.

"I don't know…could you give me a demonstration?" he replied back, giving back the exact flirty-ness that Bryan gave him. Bryan smirked inwardly, 'Yes! He didn't freaked out or anything!' he thought triumphantly, and proceeded on showing Tala his "remedy". With that, the lilac-haired boy winded his arms around Tala's waist and gave him a swift, chaste kiss on the icy-blue eyed boy's sweet, soft lips.

Tala widened his eyes. He was being kissed—or preferably, the one he likes was kissing him! Tala wasted no time and hurriedly tangled his arms around Bryan's neck, and kissed back, making Bryan moan at the touch. The lilac-haired boy ran his tongue lazily into Tala's lips, asking to enter, and Tala agreed quite vehemently opening his mouth so that Bryan's tongue could enter. Bryan then greedily tasted every nook and cranny of Tala's mouth, hungering for more.

Meanwhile, just as the kiss was going deep and intimate, Tyson grinned widely. Meaning that both boys had finally gotten together, words or no words; after all, actions speak louder than words, right? Anyway, seeing that the two were in an intense lip-lock, Tyson left the bushes and searched for some certain people who would love to hear this news.

After a long, deep kiss, both boys drew back for air, panting and gasping for air. Once they had regained their beloved oxygen back, Bryan gave Tala a sweet grin and leaned on the other boy's chest, while Tala wrapped his arms around him.

"So, does this mean…?" asked Bryan, snuggling into Tala's chest, gaining more warmth as he snuggled deeper. "Only if you want to, love. Only if you want to," replied the red headed boy.

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Meanwhile, lets get back to the pink-haired freak, shall we? Anyway, Mariah became more annoyed when Dizzi, Kenny, and Max left her in the room, all alone, with no one to accompany her for her mission to retrieve her beloved cousin, who was abducted by his brutal and cruel fiancé.

'Oh no, what if…what if Rei was getting beaten up by that Hiwatari brat?!' Mariah thought, with horror written in her eyes. She has to find him! 'Mariah has to find him! If not…then what would happen to her poor Rei?!'

With that, Mariah searched every corner of the castle, but found no one! None, zero, zilch, nada! She crossed her arms, and went to her thinking position. If she couldn't find Rei…then…oh dear, it seems like this girl's imagination is too much. She just thought that Rei was being punished in the dungeons! She stomped her foot to the ground and made a decision.

"That's it! That Hiwatari boy is so going to get it for hurting my poor Rei!" she shrieked, and one of her fists up in the air. Mariah then, walked straight directly to where her aunt and uncle are.

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Max, Kenny, Dizzi were by the gazebo, the boredom eating their fresh, innocent minds every seconds passed by. Kenny was standing up, looking out on the fields, enjoying the view. Dizzi was checking at her nails, though mostly she was secretly watching Kenny from behind. And Max? Well, remember the conversation that he had with Tyson? He still remembers what the bluenette had said about him liking someone else, although Tyson was talking about him, the blond didn't know.

"Max, is something bothering you?" asked Dizzi, snapping out from his thoughts. "You don't seem to be hyper today."

Max shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong." Dizzi frowned, while crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't give me that crap, Mizuhara. It's that Mariah isn't it? The way she treated you before?"

"Nah, Mariah was always like that," Kenny had stepped into the conversation, and was now sitting down right beside Dizzi. "Well…it's ab—"

"It's about Tyson isn't it?" Dizzi cut Max's sentence off, and gave him a soft smile. "What did the idiot do now?"

"Well, when we were waiting for the adults to come back, we just had a random conversation about the people we like, and when I asked him who he liked…he said that he likes someone else…" Dizzi and Kenny looked at each other and then back at Max who was in near tears, ready to spill every now and then. It was obvious that Max liked Tyson, and it was also obvious that the bluenette liked him back, though both were oblivious with the feelings for one another.

"Did he say the name of who he likes?" Dizzi asked further, so she and Kenny could try and patch things up between the two boys. When Max shook his head, then Kenny and Dizzi looked at each other again, and realized that Max had misunderstood Tyson into thinking that the bluenette has taken to liking someone else.

"Hey guys!" Well, speak of the devil, it seems that Tyson has found out where the trio are and proceeded to tell them about the good news between Tala and Bryan. "Diz, Kenny…please don't tell Tyson about this…I don't want him to get all subconscious about this "thing", please?" pleaded Max, while Tyson was getting nearer to them.

"Don't worry Maxie, our lips are sealed," Both said at the same time.

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Meanwhile, Mariah still kept on looking for her aunt and uncle, she passed by Tala and Bryan who were cuddling by the stone bench, not noticing her at all, to the gazebo, where Tyson, Max, Kenny, and Dizzi were talking about something that made Dizzi squeal with delight. And there was still no sign of Rei, nor his barbaric of a cousin! Mariah was about to give up, when she caught the soft laughter of her aunt by the other side of the fields. The pink neko-jin ran even though she was wearing a dress and saw that Lord Rai and Lady Leila were by the grassy area, having like a small picnic.

"Mariah! What brings you here, dear?" asked Lady Leila, while patting a grassy path, indicating that her niece should sit right beside her.

The younger girl obliged and took a seat right by her aunt. "Aunt Leila! There's something you need to know!"

"What is it, my dear?"

Mariah took a deep, huge breath and started to explain how she couldn't find Rei or her dear cousin's barbaric fiancé, although she didn't say barbaric. By the time she finished her explained her "theory", Lady Leila just started to laugh, rather unladylike.

"Oh Mariah, you did always have such a creative imagination." Mariah just looked at her Aunt with confusion written on her face. She then looked towards her uncle for some answers and her uncle did have them.

"What your aunt was trying to say is that Kai wouldn't hurt Rei even if his life was depended on it. We both could see how protective Kai is of your cousin, and I think that the young Hiwatari is beginning to feel in love with Rei."

Mariah couldn't believe it, her aunt and uncle thinks that?! Seeing that she was speechless, the pink-haired girl just nodded and went back inside the castle, thinking of ways what else she could do to separate Rei away from Kai.

'Just you wait, Hiwatari Kai, I will take my Rei away from you…and I'll make sure I get what I want, **now**.'

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**Tala:** Wow…talk about obsession.

**Others:** --agrees with Tala—

**Crystal:** --comes in limping— Hi y'all…

**Bryan:** What happened to you?! Your clothes are torn and your all dirty!

**Crystal:** Umm…well…I was walking down the street, then these Mariah fans came and somehow they found out about the bashing, and decided to have me as their punching bag…

**Tala:** WHAT?! Are you ok, dear cousin?

**Crystal:** --smiles cheerfully— Don't worry Tala! I kicked a lot of butts, though I was outnumbered… 13 to 1… Anyway, please don't forget to review!

**Tala:** Come on, we have some Mariah wanna be's to hunt.


	14. Writing the Wedding Vows

**Crystal:** Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait… --whispers-- I had my final exams like on Monday and Tuesday so I didn't really had a chance to update until now. Even though the chappy is late…I have good news for all of you! Since it's summer vacation and all…that would mean no more school…no more school means I can go to the computer 24/7 (I can only go during the weekends if there's school)…24/7 of computer means…FREQUENT UPDATES! –grins like a maniac— I can update twice as much as I used to! Hurrah! Anyway, enough chitchat…here's the responses!

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**Kodoku Wolf:** Lol, don't worry! What will happen to Kai and Rei will make you feel all tingly inside… --winks—

**BloodMistress:** Here's the next chapter!

**Saber-kon:** Lol, I hate Mariah too! –mutters— That little bitch… Ya know what? I don't even why I put her in here…I think I was on something when I did.

**Raku Ozzarian princess:** oOh…I like your weapon! Hehe…Nail gun… lol! Perfect stuff for Mariah hunting…

**Forfirith-on-a-sugar-high:** Lol, no worries, Forfirith! There's going to be MORE Mariah bashing!

**Devlinn Reiko-sama:** Glad you like the bashings! Here's the next chapter!

**Cat in the Web:** Lol, don't worry…she might get what she deserves…

**Devilburns:** Here's the next chapter!

**Enelya Aldarion:** Hmm…you know…I don't know who's going to take the next plunge. –sweat drops-- Maybe Max and Tyson…or probably our favourite couple, Kai and Rei? I don't know…

**Platinum Rei:** Glad you like the chapter! –smiles cheerfully— Here's the next chapter!

**Keri Hiwatari:** I can't believe I put her in the story too… --shakes head—

**TigerRain a.k.a Tara:** Hey Cuz! Who won the small competition? Lol, was it you? Or Tala?

**Ren:** Lol, you can help anytime with the hunt!

**Dead yet a love sick puppy:** You are so right…she really needs to stop obsessing over Rei and get a life…

**Lokisash:** Glad you like the Tala/Bryan moment!

**Prozacfairy:** Lol, don't worry, Kai won't let anything happen to Rei! Especially when it involves a pink, hairy blob.

**Rooney-and-Atreyu:** Here's the next chapter!

**Silver Kitsune:** Lol, it's ok, you don't have to apologize! –smiles cheerfully— Here's the next chapter!

**Wolf whirl:** Umm…sorry it took so long for me to update! Hope you like this chapter!

**Crazy nek0-JIN:** Hehe…glad you like the Tala/Bryan moment! Man…you could NOT believe how much a squealed while I was writing that… Anyway, lol, your chainsaw is cool!

**Mood Bind:** Here's the next chapter!

**The tigris:** Lol, I did have fun hunting! –smiles cheerfully—

**Koneko no Rei:** Glad you like the Tala/Bryan moment! And yes…our little Kai's getting into his overprotective mode. Lol!

**Tariki Rania:** I'm also glad you like the Tala/Bryan moment!

**Shayde Amelia Phoenix:** --whispers— Kill the pink witch after the fic is over. As much as I hate to admit it, she's still a part of the wedding… --cringes at the thought—

**Kai-cutie-angel:** Sorry for the late update! Lol, anyway…yeah…I had to use the pink harpy 'cuz…I need to bash her…she just pissed me off for some freakin' reason…

**SoulSister:** Yes…Mariah better watch her back…or else she might even be get beaten up…

**Lady AA-chan:** Hehe…me? Get 300 reviews? I doubt that… --smiles cheerfully-- Anyway, yeah…love is in the air! Lol, and I don't mind if you put it in your favourites! –whispers— It's actually an honour, 'cuz you're like a great author and your stories are so good, and yeah… --sweat drops— Hope you like this chapter!

**Sweet Tigress:** Lol, yes…I can very much tell that you really hate her guts. Kai could probably do it…but…he would commit murder…and that would be a very bad thing.

**Songs make me cry:** Lol, glad you like the Tala/Bryan moment! One problem though…I don't know which pairings should I do next…

**Xplicit-Bee.dot:** Yeah…I guess you're right about that…though I can't believe it that "she" would help them get closer…

**Emiz:** Lol, here's the next chapter!

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**Crystal:** There we go! Now as a reward…Donuts for everyone! Now, here's the chapter!

**Special Thanks to – StarryNightObsession aka Mae:** Thanks for BETA-ing, Mae! I really, really, **REALLY** appreciate it! And don't say you didn't do a lot because, you **DID DO A LOT** and I thank you for it! –smiles cheerfully-- Hmm…I should give you something…oOh, I know! Some yummy Strawberry Tarts! –gives a whole box and looks around-- Make sure you don't let Tyson get a whiff of the scent…I banned him from getting some Strawberry Tarts after he ate the 2 whole boxes I bought. –eye twitches— Oh, and have you finished with the thing? Is it…s-s-si-m-ila-r? –fearful look in her eyes— My fingers are still crossed to hope that it isn't…

**Disclaimer:** I DON'T OWN BEYBLADE! I NEVER CAN AND I NEVER WILL! –mutters-- I wish I did though…then I would have paired my favourite pairings in there…

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**Breathe – Chapter 14: Writing the Wedding Vows**

Kai walked side by side with Rei on the other part of the castle. He couldn't help but stare at the beautiful neko-jin right beside him, also he couldn't help but think that why did they hate each other in the first place? His crimson eyes stared at the horizon; the clouds and the sky are now the colour of dark orange blended in with a colour of the sky making it a very dark purplish colour. He still couldn't help but ponder how or why was this raven-haired beauty was always in his mind nowadays. It seems like every time he closes his eyes, all he could see through the darkness was Rei's cheerful smile and the optimistic look through his eyes; Kai sighed inwardly, he would do anything just to run his calloused hand through out those soft, and silky strands…

"Kai?" His crimson eyes looked over to the golden ones, and saw curiosity and a little bit of hurt in them. Seeing the hurt look, Kai couldn't help but be guilty and concerned at the neko-jin. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked while Rei just turned his head back, watching back to where he was walking.

"Oh…well, you weren't answering…and—and I thought you were ignoring me, but…anyway that doesn't matter," Rei rambled on and on, while the nose of his bridge was blushing little by little in embarrassment.

Kai smiled and thought that Rei's cute when he's embarrassed. He apologized for his rudeness, making Rei look at him in shock. Kai noticed this and smirked. "What? What's wrong with me saying "Sorry"?"

Rei looked away again, still blushing now more than ever. Man, thank god Bryan isn't here, he thought. Or else he wouldn't hear the end of it! "Well, I've never really heard you say sorry before, so it's kind of new to me…"

"Hn, that's alright, everyone would usually just gawk at me like what fishes would do when they hear me saying sorry." Kai shrugged, while looking at Rei's smile with his crimson eyes. The older boy couldn't help but smile while the neko-jin was smiling at the same time. 'He must have had that effect on people,' he thought.

"Oh, I see," Rei replied, silence taking over them once again. "Hey, what was your question?" Kai suddenly remembered, making Rei look at him again.

"Well, my question was…ummm…" Rei was out of words. You see, his question was if Kai still regrets being betrothed to him. The only time that Rei had the guts to ask that question was a few minutes ago, since Kai looks like he was deep in thought, like he always does.

"I'm still waiting," Kai said playfully, making Rei stick his tongue out at the slate-haired boy. "Wait, I'm still trying to put this in a good sentence," replied the younger boy.

Rei thought for a few minutes and sighed. 'Ok, just take a deep breath, Rei Kon. If he just looks at you weirdly after you ask the question, just run away as far as you can,' he thought and took a deep breath. Just about he was going to say the sentence, a pink flash zoomed by, and glomped him making Rei tumbled onto the ground.

"OH Rei! THERE YOU ARE! I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU EVERYWHERE! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WOULD BE WANDERING OFF ALONE IN THE WILD?! DIDN'T YOU KNOW THAT THERE COULD BE HOMICIDAL MANIACS HERE, WANDERING, AND LOOKING FOR VICTIMS TO KILL!?" Oh dear, it seems like Mariah has found Rei—it looks like she didn't notice Kai, or maybe she ignored him, or maybe she's blind—and now she's rubbing her icky pink hair onto Rei's arm, like a cat that needs a life.

Kai growled. Her again?! Geez, doesn't this girl ever give up on Rei?! He pushed the "girl" away and pulled his fiancé up, patting his back since Rei was coughing like hell after all that hard hugs that his cousin gave him. Mariah coughed and snarled; she noticed that her Rei's fiancé is here!

"Oh, you're here too," she muttered while standing up and dusting off her dress and straightening her freakishly pink hair. "I thought you're in the dungeons, punishing those poor defenceless serfs just because you couldn't have your way with them." Mariah gave haughty look at Kai, making Kai more pissed off.

"Oh wow, like I would love to do that but sadly, no I don't. Since I know that you do that to your own servants and probably you do that 3 times a day." After Kai had said that, Mariah's golden eyes turned into slits while Rei covered his mouth using his fist to keep on laughing, though he started to cough, trying to cover his laugh.

Mariah, being an oblivious, idiotic person that she is, got concerned really quickly and hugged Rei again, this time though, she was being gentle, and so she couldn't hurt her cousin any longer. "Oh you poor, thing! It's your entire fault, Hiwatari! You made Rei-Rei, choke!" With that Mariah dragged Rei by the arm and walked back inside the castle. Rei gave Kai an apologetic look and smile while being dragged away by his obsessed cousin.

Kai watched at the figure until it disappeared inside the castle. He turned around and kept on walking, kicking at the small pebbles to take all the anger off. He was so mad that he never even noticed two people following him; until they tackled him into the ground, face first. So now Kai's poor face was dragged all the way into the ground, while the two people who tackled him were smirking like there's no tomorrow.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… I thought the great Hiwatari Kai is always on his guard?" It seems that the two people who pushed him was none other than Tala and Bryan. Kai growled, and pushed through the ground to help himself stand up. Just as he was about to stand up, Tala and Bryan pushed him down again to the ground.

"Tala, Bryan what the hell is going on?! Let go off me and stop pushing me into the freaking ground!" Kai snarled, still being weighed down into the ground.

Tala gave a chuckle, "Because, _Master_ Hiwatari, you did something **very** wrong today."

Kai gave a pissed off grunt. "What is it now?!" Bryan looked at his boyfriend. "Should we tell him, Tala?"

"Yes, I think we should." With that both Tala and Bryan let go of Kai and stood over him, with those smirks still plastered over their faces. Kai sat up, and rubbed his face, still glaring at the two people standing in front of him.

"Now would you mind telling me what the hell did I do wrong?!"

Tala took a huge deep breath, "Well…Bry and I were walking here and saw that **you** let that pink bitch take your fiancé away from you! HOW COULD YOU, KAI?! I THOUGHT YOU LOVE Rei?!" Kai couldn't help but gawk at Tala weirdly. Who knew that he could be so overdramatic like that? Bryan sweat dropped and gave Tala a hug, which the other boy graciously accepted.

What did the other two forget, is that Kai was still with them, and after they hugged—which seemed like for a very long time—both boys saw Kai smirking with his infamous: "I'm **way** better than you" or "Hah! You wish to tell me something I forget?" smirk.

"Did I miss something here?" he drawled, while Tala and Bryan just flushed a lovely bright shade of red. Kai's smirk widened and stood up, brushing the dust off from his clothes. "Well, actually, you're the first one to find out, so you should feel special!" Tala practically shook Kai but luckily Bryan refrained him from doing so. Oh dear…it looks like somebody found Max's sugar stash…

"Well, I'm happy for you two, finally there's someone to stop Tala from being an overdramatic freak," Bryan gave a laugh while Tala just glared at the two. "Whatever, anyway, I think the adults need us…or preferably they need you and Rei. So come on, Mr. Groom, you need to go in that castle, NOW!" With that, Tala grabbed Kai and Bryan's ears and dragged them inside the castle.

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"There you three are!" Dizzi cried, while slapping the three boys' head one by one. "Where the hell have you people been?! You're late, don't you realize that?!"

By the time Kai, Tala and Bryan came inside the study—that's where the meeting was being held—everybody was already there. Also, the first thing Kai saw when he entered, was that the pink leech was sucking the life out of Rei, meaning that Mariah was clutching Rei's right arm so tight that it was turning blue. Poor Rei, he can't even feel the blood flowing down by his arm anymore! Anyway, when Kai had seen that, his eyes started to turn see red, and before he could even march there and untangled the pink tentacles away from his fiancé, someone had grabbed the collar of his shirt and was thrown at the seat in front of him.

Poor Tala, Bryan and Kai…it seems that Dizzi had been waiting for them for at least an hour now and you know how impatient Dizzi is…she'll start seeing red—like our dear Kai of course, after all they are childhood friends, right? —And maybe even some smoke coming from the outside of her ears.

"Err…Diz, maybe they've gotten the message now…after all, the adults might come any minute…" Rei ignored that by the fact that he can't feel his right arm and instead, gave his concern for his three friends, who are now in trouble with Dizzi.

"Oh Rei…you really are truly nice. Although let Tokugawa have some fun…after all, they do deserve it for being so late and all…unlike you! You're always punctual…" Mariah disgustingly cooed, making Rei smile painfully, and the others just looked at her like she grew another head…but then again, that would be pure terror too.

Tala glared at her annoyingly pink guts. "Hah, for you're information, we were late because we're planning to…to ma—" The icy-blue eyed boy was cut off, by the sound of footsteps from outside the door of the study hall and kept his mouth shut, since he realized that it was the adults who was making all those footsteps and just took a seat beside Bryan.

Before Tala could take a seat, the adults came in Lord Voltaire leading them one by one. Mariah, being the suck-up that she is, stood up and gave her aunt and uncle a kiss cheek to cheek and a hug then went back to torturing Rei's right arm. Fortunately, Lady Leila motioned Rei to stand up and take a seat right next to Kai, who by the way was getting pissed off by the second; it's quite obvious really, in a one to ten scale, his glare was down to a 10, 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

When Rei had took a seat right beside the enraged boy, Kai suddenly calmed down a whole lot. Everybody noticed this and smiled, well, except for Mariah who was sulking in her seat since she's not sitting beside Rei anymore. Anyway, Lord Rai cleared his throat to get attention from the people, after he had gotten the spotlight; he smiled at everyone and proceeded on the task at hand.

"Now that we're all here, let's get to work, shall we? Right…now, as we can all see here, Rei and Kai's wedding is at least 5 weeks away. We're going to start the fitting of the robes next week, and then start the rehearsals the week after that." He motioned Lord Voltaire to continue on the conversation.

"Meanwhile everything of that is going on, you and Rei," he looked over at the engaged couple. "You both will write your vows. You have 2 weeks until the rehearsals, so that should be a plenty of time for the two of you to write them."

Rei could **not** believe it, only 5 weeks away until the big day!! Everything went by so fast…Rei couldn't help but wonder how did Hiwatari Rei sounded like… He shook his head, and blushed inwardly. How could he think of such a thing! It was only an arranged marriage, and nothing more! Though…he did wish it was more than that…

Meanwhile, Kai was thinking of the same thing. He also could not believe that 5 weeks is left until Kon Rei would become Hiwatari Rei, and be his other half for the rest of his life. The crimson-eyed boy could not help but be happy, since he fell in love with the person he was going to marry. Although he also could not help but feel cold and alone…since it was only an arranged marriage and he was sure that Rei doesn't feel the same way…

Boy…if only they knew…

In the meantime, the others could not help but get excited. Bryan and Tala looked at each other, feeling really happy for their best friends, Dizzi almost squealed in delight but Kenny was stopping her for making a fool of her, while Tyson and Max just smiled cheerfully. Though everybody was happy at the situation, there is someone who was disappointed about it. Can you guess who the person is? Oh never mind…I'll just tell you, it's the pink harpy from hell. It looks like there's no time on getting them separated, unless…Mariah had an evil glint in her eyes.

"Umm…Aunty Leila?" she asked in a cute, suck-up voice. Lady Leila looked at her niece. "Yes, Mariah dear?" she replied.

"Well, is it ok if I help with Rei-Rei's vow?" the niece had asked. Rei looked at his mother in pure terror, there's no way in hell she would say yes…right? Seeing his fiancé with a horror look on his face, Kai gripped Rei's hand for reassurance. Rei looked at Kai and smiled. 'He can be such a sweetie sometimes…' he thought.

"Well…I think you should," Lady Leila agreed at Mariah's plea. Rei turned his head towards his mother again. Why, oh why…did she have to say yes?! Lady Leila must have heard Rei's thought since she gave him a warm smile. "It's been a long time since we've been together with Mariah again. So maybe this writing the vow thing would strengthen your bonds again as cousins, hm?" Lady Leila asked Rei.

Rei just squeaked and nodded reluctantly, meanwhile, Mariah grinned widely. Now she's heading towards the right direction! All she has to do was to delay her lovely Rei to writing his vow until the rehearsals! That way, the adults might get mad at Rei for being a tardy boy and then they might cancel the wedding! Oh, that would be perfect!

Max looked at Mariah with suspicions in his eyes. He couldn't help but think that the pink-haired freak was up to something…he looked over to where Tyson was a caught him staring, and realized that Tyson noticed something too. The cheerful blond gave a small nod, and also asked Lady Leila if they could help Rei too. Tyson and Max were happy since luck was on their side and made Lady Leila agree that they should Rei also, making Mariah glare at them with her golden, slit eyes.

"So that is settled then, the vows are going to be due by time we start on the rehearsals. Now…remember, if you two," Lady Leila pointed over to Kai and Rei. "Are having problems writing the vows, don't hesitate to ask us for help!" She finished cheerfully, and with that they all left the room, leaving the younger people there.

"C'mon, Rei-Rei! It's time to work on your vow now!" Mariah said, as she stood up from her seat and walked towards to where Kai and Rei were. "Sorry, Mariah!" Max and Tyson had pulled Rei first before Mariah had the chance to. "But, we already have an idea to what Rei's going to write!" Max said triumphantly, bouncing every now and then.

"Don't worry Kai, we'll take care of your fiancé!" Tyson had said, while laughing. Kai gave the bluenette a death glare and a hard smack on the head. "OWW…!! What was **that** for?!"

"For being an idiot."

"Arrgghh…whatever, come on Max, Rei, its time for vow-writing!" With that, Tyson both grabbed Rei's and Max's hand—making Max blush slightly of course—and left the study room. Mariah scoffed and left the room too, in pursuit of catching up to Max, Tyson and Rei, so she could try and get Rei away from them.

"Now…get to writing, Kai!" Dizzi had said, standing up from her seat. "You only have two weeks left! And don't you dare say that it's way to early to start!" Kai just gave her a cool look. "Why would I say that? Anyway…I don't really have a piece of parchment and quill do I?"

Dizzi sweat dropped and went over to a small cupboard, revealing rolls of blank parchments, bottled inks, and a lot of quills. She took one of each and dumped them over by the desk where Kai was writing. "There," she said. "Now…we're going to leave you here so you can have some peace and quiet ok?" She left the room without question and Kenny followed with her.

Tala and Bryan were sitting right across from Kai, watching him in an intense gaze, making the crimson-eyed boy look up and gave them a questioning look. "Well," Tala started. "You can't expect yourself to write a vow with no complications…"

"Hn, I can so."

"No, you can't!"

"I can."

"You can't!"

"Yes, I can!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"SHUT UP!" Both Kai and Tala looked over to where Bryan was, and saw that the lilac-haired boy has a dangerous look in his eyes that look like that could kill someone right away. They stopped their childish arguing, leaned back into their chairs, and waited for further instructions from Bryan.

In the meantime, Bryan--who still was annoyed by his boyfriend and Kai's childish actions—got up from his seat and walked over by the door. "Bry? Where are you going?" asked Tala, wondering why would Bryan leave even though he, Tala himself was here. "I'm going to go and check if Rei has started writing his. Oh, and when I come back, the both of you shouldn't be acting like a couple of hooligans who just came out of a mental place." With that, Bryan left the room, leaving an intimidated Kai and Tala alone.

"Ok…Tala, your lover there, is freaky," Kai muttered darkly, while picking up the quill and started to write. Tala just kept quiet and waited for Bryan to come back.

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Tyson had dragged Max and Rei to a secluded area where only him, Kai, Tala and Dizzi only now about, so no one could bother them—Hint: something pink and scary. The area was an old ruin, probably that was made at least 500 years ago. Most of the structures have already been destroyed by erosion but there were some left, making it a pretty place to look at.

"Wow…this place looks so pretty! Where did you find this place?" asked Max while walking around the place. "Hehe…we were playing hide and seek one time, and then we just found this place. Neat, huh?" Tyson said, feeling a little smug that he made Max look really surprised and awed at the place before him.

Rei went over to the one of the fallen rocks from one of the buildings. He dusted off a part of it, and sat down, hauling his legs up so that he could sit cross-legged. "Ok…err…do you mind if we start now?" he asked while Tyson was still showing Max around the place.

"Sure, Rei!" Max cheered and pulled Tyson with him, going over to where Rei was sitting. "Now…let's see…what to write…" the cheerful blond trailed off with his eyebrows burrowing in deep thought. Rei looked up into the sky, while pondering what he could write. After all he only has 2 weeks until the rehearsal starts…

"Rei?" asked Tyson, making the neko-jin look at him. "Yeah?" answered Rei, while his eyes were full of confusion in them.

"Well…can I ask you something…personal?" Rei hesitated for a little bit, but nodded his head right away. When he saw Rei's nod, Tyson took a deep breath and blurted out his question.

"Do you love Kai?" Rei was stunned at the question. Did he love Kai? He wasn't even sure himself. Although deep inside he feels happy when Kai's near, he also feels all tingly inside when either Kai held him by the waist or when he holds his hands… After so much ponderings, Rei realized that he loves Kai. "Rei…?" asked Max, while looking at his friend with a slightest curiosity to mankind.

Rei looked at the pair and smile softly. "Yes…I…I love him," he replied, while a small blush was tainting his soft cheeks. Max and Tyson cheered and started to jump for joy. Tyson was so happy that he hugged Max real tight, making the other boy shocked and surprised, but nonetheless Max also hugged back, feeling secured in Tyson's arms.

"Well, now that answer's my question, here's my idea: Why won't you confess your love for Kai in that vow?" suggested Tyson, who was still holding Max. Rei grinned at him. "You know…I always wonder why I thought of you as the jester." Tyson gave a laugh until he realized that Rei had given him a small diss.

"HEY!"

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**Crystal:** YEAH! Rei loves Kai! –grins widely—

**Rei:** --blushes—

**Crystal:** --pokes— Come on…don't be all shy now… --smirks— Hehe…anyway, hope you guys like that chapter! Review, ok? Ja ne, minna-san! –waves happily--


	15. A very surprising idea indeed!

**Crystal:** Heylo, everyone! I really don't have anything to say right now, so off to the responses, shall we?

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**Shayde Amelia Phoenix:** Lol, glad you're taking my advice!

**Witch Tigress a.k.a Kit:** Hehe…if Kai says yes you can…

**Forfirith-on-a-sugar-high:** I know she doesn't need two heads or mouths… it'll be bad enough…

**Saber-kon:** As much as I would love to do that, I can't…I still need her for the wedding…

**Moon Bind:** He was little OOC? Oh…heehee…well, lets just say that he's using he's brain for once.

**Kodoku Wolf:** --grins sheepishly-- I don't know when would Kai confesses…

**Enelya Aldarion:** Haha…hyper Bryan? You know…I can't picture him being hyper…

**Platinum Rei:** Yes…Mariah's starting to bug everyone too…

**The tigris:** What took awhile? Oh, confession thing? --sighs-- I'm too slow today…

**Tariki Rania:** Lol, she might die by humiliation, you'll just have to see!

**Raku Ozzarian Princess:** Yeah! Heehee…make sure you have to keep a close eye for Mariah real closely, ok?

**Prozacfairy:** --gasp-- I can't let Mariah screw up the wedding!! Grr…lol, don't worry I'm going to make sure she won't be messing the wedding.

**TigerRain a.k.a Tara:** Lol, great idea! Don't worry though, cuz! There will be more KaixRei fluffiness…

**Koneko no Rei:** Hehe…poor you, you have to give up your lunch, because of the pink harpy!

**Crazy nek0-JIN:** Don't worry, the wedding coming soon. Very soon!

**Shirohikari:** Yeah…Kai and Rei's moments are cute… --sighs happily--

**Devilburns:** Here's the next chapter!

**Lokisash:** Yes…Mariah is a pink haired freak…and yay for Rei!

**Yugi Lover:** Wow…thanks for the plushies! --cuddles them-- Ok, don't worry, Max and Tyson will have their moment soon!

**Lady AA-chan:** Heehee…that's a very nice plan. --nods-- Anywhoo, here's the next chapter!

**Songs make me cry:** hmm…I don't know if the vows should be revealed in the rehearsals or during the wedding… but you'll just have to wait!

**BloodMistress:** Here's the next chapter!

**Wolf whirl:** Lol, that idea was hilarious! And yes…were you on sugar high at the time? LOL!

**Kand3e:** yeah! The wedding's coming up…hehe

**IndigoDeath666:** Thanks for the waffle! --smiles cheerfully-- Here's the next chapter!

**Devlinn Reiko-sama:** Glad you like the chapter! Here's the next one!

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**And special thanks to StarryNightObsession:** Thanks for BETA-ing again, Mae! --smiles cheerfully--

**Crystal:** Now…as reward for all of you people, Ice cream sandwiches for everyone! Now on to the chapter, enjoy!

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**Breathe – Chapter 15: A very surprising idea, indeed!**

Bryan walked into the corridors; opening every door he could see just in case Rei, Max, Tyson or even the pink freak was there. He walked over to one of the doors and opened it. None! 'Where the hell could they be?!' he thought, as he slammed the closed doors once again. He went down the grand staircase and went outside, hoping to have luck in finding his friends. Unfortunately, as he walked outside he saw Mariah looking for something, or rather **someone**.

"What are you doing?" asked Bryan, making Mariah jump off at least 3 feet from the ground. "Argghh…what do **you** want?" Mariah said, while glaring at Bryan with all her might.

"What I do is none of your business," the lilac-haired boy said coolly, making the pink haired freak scream in frustration and stomped her foot into the ground. "Ugh, as if I want to what your doing." Mariah muttered, while following where Bryan was walking.

Bryan sensed that he was being followed and kept on walking faster, until he saw Kenny and Dizzi playing cards by the gazebo. Dizzi saw Bryan walking towards them and waved happily. "Hey Bryan! Walk faster, damn it!"

Kenny sweat dropped and waved at Bryan. The other boy smirked at the sight; it looks like Kenny and Dizzi are going along fine…very fine. "Have you guys seen Rei, Max, and Kinomiya?" Kenny shook his head. "No, we haven't seen them, why?"

Bryan slapped his forehead and cursed slightly. "Damn, I was going to see if Rei's finished his vow." Dizzi shot up like a bullet looking all excited and stuff. "Is Kai finished with his? I want to read it! Now, now, now!"

"No…he isn't done yet. But…do you have any idea where the other three could be?" Kenny shrugged at Bryan's question while Dizzi just went to her thinking position. Silence consumed them for a few minutes until Dizzi snapped her fingers and grinned.

"I know where they could possibly be! Come on, follow me!" With that, Dizzi grabbed Bryan and Kenny's arms and dragged them inside the forest.

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Tala groaned, as he was lying down on the couch. He looked over to where Kai was still writing his stupid vow and groaned even more. Geez…how long do you have to write a one vow? Kai looked at the red head and rolled his eyes. 'What a lazy ass,' he thought and kept on writing more.

"Kai…are you freaking done?! It's been at least an hour since you're butt has been on that chair, writing that vow!" Tala whined, while Kai just glared at him. "If you were so bored, then why didn't you followed Bryan instead, rather than annoy me to death here?" muttered Kai, still scribbling at the piece of parchment.

Tala sighed and slapped his head. "Why didn't I think of that before?" He stood up from the couch and walked by the door. "See you later, Kai!" Kai ignored the boy and just continued writing.

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Rei sighed, and looked at his written vow. There, he was finally done! He looked over to where Tyson and Max were and saw that both boys had fallen asleep. It was a very cute sight, since Max's head was leaning against Tyson's shoulder, while Tyson's head was leaning against Max's. Rei jumped off the rock and walked around the place. It was really a beautiful sight. Most of the marble statues were still standing and Rei looked at one of them very carefully.

It was a phoenix, with its wings stretched out, making it look strong and magnificent. The statue was really a work of art. Every lines and edges were very detailed and very well carved. Somehow, the statue had reminded him of Kai; Strong, magnificent, powerful, and in every other way that it could be described. Suddenly, Rei felt very cold; he could not bear to think to marry someone who's will-freed and can rule a land easily.

'He doesn't deserve someone who's gentle and vulnerable like me,' Rei thought, while touching the statue, feeling it's coldness against his warm palm. Just as he was about to let go, he saw four names that were etched by the side of where the statue was standing. He gazed at the names and realized that it was Kai, Tala, Tyson, and Dizzi's names that were etched here.

"I guess you've found that," Someone had said. Rei turned around, startled at the voice, but realized that it was only Dizzi, Kenny and Bryan. "Dizzi! You scared me half to death!" Rei said, clutching his chest, sighing in relief.

Dizzi gave a small giggle. "Sorry about that Rei. Hey! I never knew that it was still there! I thought weathering and erosion had erased it all away!" She walked over to Rei and the statue and peered her eyes over the writing. She gave a smile and put her hand on the marble stone.

As Dizzi kept on reminiscing her childhood memories, Rei walked over to where Bryan and Kenny were watching their little buddy Max who was taking a cute nap beside Tyson. The neko-jin rolled his eyes at the two since Bryan was smirking way too much and Kenny was just smiling there like Max when the blond was on sugar high. They all know that Max and Tyson have deep feelings for one another, though both of them are way too naïve and oblivious about it.

"Would you guys quit it?" he whispered, so he could make sure that both people won't wake up. "How long were they asleep for?" asked Kenny, while Bryan just sulked since Rei had ruin his fun.

"I don't really know, I was to wrapped up writing my vow that I didn't realize that they fell asleep," Rei had explained, while going back to his previous seat, holding his vow protectively. Dizzi turned around, away from the statue and looked at Rei with curiosity in her eyes. "You're done with your vow?" The girl had asked while Rei just nodded his head. "May I see it? Pretty please?"

Rei blushed lightly and looked away. Should he let her read the vow? He thought about it for a few seconds and shook his head reluctantly. "Sorry, Diz. I think my mother should be the first one to look at it." Dizzi was disappointed at first, but agreed to Rei that his mother should take a look first.

They stayed by the ruins a little bit more, waiting for Max and Tyson to wake from their slumber. Kenny and Bryan had explored inside the ruins, going inside the buildings that haven't been destroyed yet. As they entered the buildings, they've seen lots of stuff that weren't destroyed. Tables were still in perfect shape, with chairs tucked in neatly under the table. There were paintings of the meadows, being moved by the wind in perfect rhythm. Kenny was ecstatic; he's read about these kinds of paintings! He'd never realize that he'd see one in actuality! Bryan on the other hand, was amazed yet bored.

In the meantime, Dizzi and Rei were talking about the wedding and of course, the groom: Kai! Dizzi couldn't help squeal every now and then, babbling how grown up Kai was. It seemed like only yesterday when they all had first met in the garden. The two didn't even realize that someone had entered inside the ruins, until they had decided to join in at their conversation.

"Diz…are you telling Rei about Kai's embarrassments?" Rei and Dizzi turned to their left and saw that it was Tala, with his infamous smirk. "Tala! How could you say such a thing? It's Ty's job to do that, not mine!" Dizzi gave a too sweet smile and then turned it into a smirk.

Rei gave a small sweat drop and sighed. Tala looked around the ruins, and noticed Max and Tyson sleeping. He gave a small smile at the pair and took a seat right beside Dizzi. "Has anyone seen, Bryan?"

The neko-jin tilted his head, indicating that he was confused. "Why are you looking for Bryan? Has he done something bad? Oh great…" He slumped on his seat and his eyes were starting to twitch. Wait until Bryan gets here… Tala shook his head and tried to get his boyfriend out of Rei's little misunderstanding.

Well, speak of the devil; just as Tala was about to explain, Bryan and Kenny had come back from their little exploration of the place. You could see that Kenny was about to cry that he had seen some stuff that he'd never thought he'd see for millions of years. Bryan on the other hand, was in deep thought. His arms were crossed over his chest, and you can't see his lilac eyes since Bryan's eyelids have covered them.

Before Rei could speak or…yell at Bryan, Tala had gotten to him first and crushed his lips against Bryan's. Rei was surprised and realized that Bryan didn't do anything at, Tala was just look for him. The neko-jin smiled really widely and clapped his hands together. Finally they've gotten together! Wait… Rei gave a look towards Dizzi and Kenny's way; they don't seem to be surprised at all! Until he realized that he was the last one to know, Rei face faulted and sighed. Oh well, at least now his best friend has the happiness that he deserved a long time ago.

The neko-jin now turned his head towards his other best friend who was still sleeping peacefully. Now…it was Max's turn to also get the happiness that he also deserves. He still remembered the day when the adults had come back, and how Max was feeling so down. Rei knows that it had something to do with Tyson and he was going to find out what it is. Rei looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was setting now, with a beautiful colour of orange and blue mixing together. He walked over to the sleeping pair and shook Max lightly on the shoulder.

"Max? Wake up now," Rei said softly. Max groaned and snuggled more into Tyson's shoulder. Rei sighed, sometimes Max is really hard to wake up. "Bryan?" The neko-jin turned towards the other boy, who was in the arms of Tala.

"Yeah?"

"Could you carry Max? He's still sleeping and it's almost dark," With that, Bryan reluctantly moved away from Tala and picked up the blond, who was still sleeping. "Who's going to get Kinomiya?" he asked while adjusting how he should carry Max so he wouldn't drop the boy.

"I'll carry, Tyson," volunteered Tala, and with that they all went back into the castle.

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Kai smirked with satisfaction as he looked at his finished vow. He looked at the window and realized that he'd been writing his vow for the whole afternoon now. He stretched his tense muscles and looked at his vow again; he never had thought that it would take **that** long just to write one vow. But then again, he never thought he would put a **lot** of time writing one vow.

He heard a knock on the door and realized that it was one of the servants, telling him that dinner was served. Kai folded his vow and put it in his pocket. He stood up and walked out of the room, still stretching his muscle. While walking down towards the great hall, he saw Rei's father walking towards there as well.

Lord Rai noticed Kai coming down the grand staircase and waited for him. Feeling like he just had to talk to his future son-in-law. "Hello there, Kai."

Kai nodded and being a polite young man that he is, walked with Rei's father towards the great hall. Silence had taken over, making the phoenix anxious, though he felt kind of idiotic. Why would he feel anxious? The man right beside would be his future father-in-law anyway.

"So, have you started on your vow?" asked Lord Rai. Kai nodded his head, and answered. "Yes, and I've also finished it already." Lord Rai was surprised. He was already finished? Just before he could say something to Kai, they were already at the front door of the great hall. Before they could go to their separate seats, Lord Rai clamped his hand on Kai's shoulder, indicating that he made him proud.

"Ah Kai, there you are," Lady Leila acknowledged Kai's presence, as she gave a peck on Lord Rai's cheek. "How was your day?"

"It was fine," Kai said politely, sensing that Rei and the others haven't come in yet. As if on cue, Rei and the others have arrived, except for Max and Tyson who seemed to be sleeping more. Rei gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and took a seat right beside Kai, making the pink haired freak seethed with jealousy.

Rei looked at Max's mother, and Tyson's father and told them that their sons were sleeping in their quarters. Soon, dinner has already started. Kai was very surprised to see that Tyson wasn't here, stuffing his face with god knows what. Anyway, Kai looked at the adults who were discussing some very important parts. He assumed that they were talking something about the wedding. Whatever it is, it made Lady Leila and Judy giggle in a non-ladylike way.

Kai turned to Rei and hopefully he wished that his fiancé knows what the adults were talking about. "Rei?" Rei looked at Kai, "What's wrong, Kai?"

"Do you know what the adults were talking about?" asked the phoenix, while Rei just leaned and looked towards the adults who were indeed discussing some important issues. Also, he could have sworn that Sir Ivanov and Sir Kinomiya have been giving him and Kai glances. Rei blinked confusingly, turning his back so he could look at Kai again.

"I have no idea what they were talking about," he muttered back. "Though, I could have sworn Sir Ivanov and Sir Kinomiya stole a glance from us. Kai just nodded and turned his attention back to his food, while Rei was still thinking about what the adults have been talking about.

'Oh great, now Maxie's curiosity has rubbed off on me,' the neko-jin thought sarcastically, while turning his attention back to his sweet potatoes and beefsteak.

After that wonderful supper, Sir Minamoto and Sir Tokugawa had requested that everybody should not leave the great hall until they have heard Lady Leila, Lord Rai and Lord Hiwatari speak.

"Well, during our wonderful dinner here," started Lady Leila. "The rest of the adults here and I have decided on something very important here between Kai and Rei." Upon hearing their names, Kai and Rei looked towards the adults' way, with curiosity, anxiousness, and confusion written in their faces.

Lady Leila turned her head towards the pair and gave a gleeful smile. "We have decided that Kai and Rei should share one room now!" Everybody excluding the adults were surprised, especially Kai and Rei. They're going to share the room, the bed…wait, the bed TOO?!

As if hearing Kai and Rei's thoughts, Mariah fainted, making a loud THUMP! Right across from Dizzi's seat. Lord Rai went over to his niece and checked her pulse. "She's fine," he reassured Lady Leila that the girl was fine, though the rest of the people, including the advisors were disappointed. Sir Ivanov muttered something about having an overreacting niece, to Tala muttering about having a thick head. Wow…like father, like son, eh?

Lord Rai picked up Mariah and left the room with Lady Leila in tow, leaving the rest of the people there. In the meantime, Kai and Rei were still dazed from the announcement, making Dizzi and Kenny drag into following Sir Tokugawa upstairs into their new room, since everything's probably already been taken care off.

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When Kai and Rei had entered the room, it was a perfect sight. There was a four-poster king sized bed with dark red sheets, and the fluffiest pillows you've ever seen. There was also a small desk and a small bookshelf, filled with books and other material. The balcony window was also big, with dark red curtains made out of silk and satin. A big fireplace was placed on one side of the room, right across from the bed, and two big armchairs were right in front of the fireplace. And last but not the least, a golden chest was lying oh so innocently in the front of the foot end of the bed, with a little note of parchment on top.

"What's this?" Rei's curiosity got a hold of him, and walked towards the chest. Kai soon followed and now both of them are standing right in front of the golden chest. Kai saw the piece of parchment and looked at Rei, as if like saying he should open it.

Rei shrugged when he saw Kai's look, though he eyes deceived him for in his look, was the expression of curiosity and agreement that Kai should open the note. Kai saw that look and opened the parchment, for he himself too has an overbearing curiosity to look and open the note.

The note said:

_To the newlyweds, Kai and Rei:_

_Congratulations! We're very happy for the two of you, and I'm very sure that you will rule the kingdom fantastically. For Kai: Take care of our little Rei and please protect him with all you could, though we're pretty sure that you already know that yourself. And for our little Rei: we've never been more proud of you. It seems like only yesterday that you were crawling all around in the castle and now look, a ruler with a mighty husband. Remember: be truthful to one another. That's the only way of having a wonderful family and a mighty kingdom._

_ Yours truly,_

_ Rai and Leila Kon_

_PS: Don't open this chest until after your wedding._ _And don't forget, we love you so much!_

After reading the letter, crimson eyes looked at the golden ones and looked away, red tints marking in on Rei's tanned cheeks and Kai's cheeks, blending in with his dark blue shark fins. Kai refolded back the parchment and put it on top of the chest again. There was a big silence between them, until Rei cleared his throat and went around a huge flat board so he could change. Once after that, he went out and walked towards the bed, still blushing at the thought that him and Kai would sleep in the same bed.

As Rei walked out from the other side of the huge flat board, Kai went in changing into his nightclothes. When the older one had finished, he walked towards the bed and took the side near the door since Rei had been occupied the one near the balcony. Silence still fell upon the two boys as slumber slowly claim them.

But, before the neko-jin fell asleep, he said to Kai, "Good night, Kai. Sweet dreams."

A small smile played across Kai's lips as Rei said those words. "Good night, Rei. Sweet dreams to you too."

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Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, a certain bluenette woke up in the middle of the night, feeling hungry all of a sudden. But then again…he's always hungry. Anyway, he lit up three candles in a candle holder and went outside his chamber, walking into the dim, and cool corridors, though he could just easily go through the secret passages where only him, Tala, Kai and Dizzi knew.

Still walking down the corridor, Tyson heard some footsteps, making him very startled. "W-who's there? S-show yourself!" he managed to sputter out, still holding candle out. When he heard nothing, he sighed in relief, and kept on walking towards the empty corridor.

Though, once again, he heard footsteps, and before he could turn around, someone had tapped Tyson's shoulder making Tyson jumped three feet off the ground and started screaming. "Aah!"

It was Max, and it seemed like Tyson wasn't the only one who's hungry in the middle of the night. "Sshh! Tyson, it's me, Max! Tyson, shut up! Stop screaming!" Max started to panic. What if Tyson's scream wakes up everyone? He had no other choice but to do one thing. With that, Max grabbed Tyson's head and kissed him on the lips, muffling the scream.

When Max was about to break off the kiss, Tyson had kissed back, wanting more by licking Max's bottom lip, asking for entrance. Max happily obliged at Tyson's request and opened his mouth slightly, so that Tyson's tongue could enter. They continued until they had to break apart for air. Tyson smiled at Max, while Max did the same thing.

Yep, Tyson was very sure that he wasn't hungry anymore.

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**Crystal:** Heehee…aww…Max and Tyson are together now!

**Max:** --blushes—

**Crystal:** Anywhoo, I have one question for all of you people:

**Should Rei be in a GOWN or a TUXEDO?**

**Crystal:** I really need your responses for the question, and I would very much appreciate if you guys answer it. Now, don't forget to review! Ja ne, minna-san! --waves happily--


	16. Walking down to memory lane

**Crystal:** Heylo, everyone! I am so thankful for you guys! Thanks for giving your suggestions about what Rei should wear. I really appreciate it! Though you guys will just have to wait for the next chapter to know what would Rei wear. --smiles mischieviously-- Anyway, here are the responses!

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**Platinum Rei:** Thanks for your suggestion! --smiles cheerfully--

**Saber-kon:** Unfortunately, Mariah didn't bash her head on the floor... though, we can always dream of that happening, ne? Anyway, thanks for the suggestion!

**TigerRain a.k.a Tara:** You know what? I agree with you, I can't picture Tala being an expert in fashion...and I'm his cousin too! And what's this about him not being mean or evil anymore? Is he sick?

**Dead yet a love sick puppy:** Thanks for the suggestion!

**Devlinn Reiko-sama:** I'm glad you liked the idea! Thanks for the suggestion! --smiles--

**Anime Girl8:** oOh...yes, I know what Kurama's outfit! And yes...I watch Yu Yu Hakusho, well I used to when I used to live in the Philippines anyway, they don't have Yu Yu Hakusho to where I live now. --pouts--

**Moon Bind:** Gomen ne for mispelling your name! Gomen ne, gomen ne, gomen ne! --bows--

**Lokisash:** Yeah... I FINALLY put Maxie and Tyson together. --smiles cheerfully--

**Prozacfairy:** Lol, Rei in a gown make bad mental images? You know... I never thought of that... --sweat drops--

**Raku Ozzarian princess:** Haha... yeah, it was really blunt. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion! Haha... and keep on shooting nails on Mariah's feet! Just make sure you don't run out of nails...

**The tigris:** Hehe... before you read the chapter you thought of what would Rei will wear to the wedding? Then I asked the question... lol, that's weird for some reason.

**Akira Shadow:** So... I should make Rei sulk? Hmm... not a bad idea...

**Koneko no Rei:** Haha... great ideas to kill the pink freak. Especially the accuse Mariah for being a witch and burn her at the stake, and the feed her to the scorpions and make her shower in acid ones... those made me laughed so hard... haha...

**BloodMistress:** Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

**Witch Tigress a.k.a Kit:** Ok, I'll ask Kai for you... if he's not in a bad mood... which will be never... unless Rei could ask for him...

**Wolf whirl:** Thanks for the suggestion! And here's the next chapter!

**Danya:** oOh... I like your idea! --smiles cheerfully-- Very unique.

**mOoNliTe-rApHsOdy:** Glad you like my story! Anyway, here's the next chapter!

**Bluumberry:** --hugs back-- You don't have to apologise! And your proud of me? --smiles-- I don't really know what to say... =)

**Blaze Howler:** You'll find out what's in chest very, very soon. It would be a surprise! Lol.

**SoulSister:** Lol, yeah... they share a room now, and don't worry, you'll be able to read their vows soon.

**Enelya Aldarion:** Haha...you're right, kissing someone who's screaming is really an interesting way to make them shut up.

**Alex Hiwatari:** I can't imagine Kai wearing a dress....

**o Bubbles o:** Thanks for the suggestion!

**Shanna:** You don't have to apologise! Here's the next chapter! --smiles--

**Devilburns:** Here's the next chapter!

**EternalElement:** Thanks for the chocolate and Kai plushie! --hugs Kai plushie-- Hmm...a Tala/Bryan centered fic? Well, actually I do have one in mind... though I'm too wrapped up with this fic right here and I have another one coming up... and Bryan/Rei? Well, yeah I guess I kind of like that pairing... not as much as Kai/Rei but yeah I can put up with it and it would totally give me a great change to writing fics... though I'm not so sure if I should write one, maybe I will, maybe I won't, but who knows? I never really had given it a thought on writing one... Anyway, I guess you could consider yourself happy, hehe... I have a story idea for a ExT (CCS) except I haven't started it on yet. Oh! And yes I know Gravitation...hehe, yeah Yuki/Shuichi pairings are so cute! Though to tell you the truth, I haven't really watched at whole anime series I only saw like screen shots of it so yeah...

**Songs make me cry:** yep, I got Max and Tyson together! --smiles--

**Emiz:** Thanks for the suggestion!

**Luminous Carte:** Here's the next chapter!

**Kai-cutie-angel:** You don't have to apologise! After all it is really a duty to entertain your cousin! Lol, I had to do that once too, so I understand! --smiles-- And thanks for the suggestions! I know they'll help big time!

**Akata Silver.S:** Glad you like the chapter! Thanks for the suggestion!

**GGJ:** Here's the next chapter!

**Tariki Rania:** Yes...that was a special moment for our two little hyperactive buddies... and yes again... unfortunately Mariah still lives...

**IndigoDeath666:** Glad you like Kai and Rei sharing the room! Here's the next chapter!

**Phoenixflame905:** lol, those are very nice adjectives that describes Mariah.

**Nothinglittlegirl:** Thanks for the suggestion!

**Vampyre Neko:** I don't know what they where at weddings... darn, I'm going to search for information then.

**Lady AA-chan:** How was Ohio? Oh, and thanks for the suggestion! Now...yeah, they didn't kiss each other good night... --pouts-- And no...unfortunately Mariah didn't bash her head when she fainted... --sighs-- But we can always dream that she did, right? Lol!

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**Crystal: **There we go! --smiles-- I'm going to say this again... THANKS FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS!!! They really helped me a lot! Now... as a reward, Tala plushies for everyone! Now, on to the chapter, enjoy! And again, thanks for BETA-ing, Mae!

**Disclaimer:** Three words: I.DON'T.OWN, get with the flow here?

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**Breathe – Chapter 16: Walking down to memory lane**

It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and if you would come to a certain room, you would clearly see how two people could sleep in a peaceful way, with their arms around each other, finding peace and serenity even though they are sleeping.

Kai, being an early riser, woke up really early, thinking that maybe he could train his sword skills. Though when he was about to sit up and stretch his muscles, he realized that there was a certain someone snuggling to him, sleeping comfortably, also to Kai's amusement, that certain someone was also purring. His crimson eyes widened at the sight of Rei, sleeping peacefully beside him, snuggling to get his warmth. The other thing that's making him more perplexed was that his arm was draped across Rei's slender waist in a protective and possessive manner. Being in a state of shock yet happiness, the stoic boy didn't even realized that the raven-haired beauty was waking up.

Rei, also being an early riser—though Kai wakes up five minutes before him—woke up really early, also thinking that maybe he could train his martial arts skills. When he had opened his eyes, those golden orbs saw a very lean and muscular chest. Rei was dumbfounded, yet he felt very warm since the person who was hugging him was very warm. The neko-jin reluctantly set his gaze off the chest and looked up, he saw a pair of crimson eyes staring at his golden ones. Rei blushed a light shade of red, staining his cheeks ever so slightly. What the heck is he doing in Kai's arms?! Even though Rei's mind was going haywire, he didn't pulled away from the embrace, he just couldn't pull away, it just felt so…right.

"Good morning, Rei," Kai was the first to break the awkwardness between them, pretending that it was just a normal day.

Rei, who was still dumbfounded, nodded at Kai's greeting. "Good morning to you too, Kai," he replied, smiling sweetly making the other smile too. Silence engulfed them once again, having to not know what to say to each other, though they still stayed in each other's arms.

"So," Rei started, since the silence was bothering him. "How did we end up like this?"

Kai shrugged, "I have no idea. Though, as much as I would like to stay in bed, we have to get up sooner or later."

The neko-jin became disappointed when Kai had said that. He was so comfortable in his arms! Though, Kai was right, they had to get up sooner or later, unless they want their friends catching them in a position like this. Oh, they would **never**, **ever** hear the end of it. Reluctantly, Rei moved away from Kai's embrace, much to him and Kai's disappointed, and sat up stretching in a feline manner.

"Do you always stretch like a cat?" Kai asked; feeling very amused at Rei stretching.

Rei puffed his cheeks and playfully glared at Kai. "Why, do you have a problem with it?" The neko-jin saw Kai shake his head and smiled cheerfully. "Okay then."

With that, Rei left the bed and went around inside the huge flat board to change into his fighting suit, leaving Kai alone. Once Rei had finished changing, it was Kai's cue to change. Rei brushed his long hair and tied it up into a loose ponytail. When Kai had come out, him and Rei exchanged both smiles and left the room together, though they went on their separate ways.

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Just as Rei had come out in the castle, he had already seen Bryan, Kenny and Max in the fields, probably waiting for him. Curiosity had taken over Rei's mind when the raven-haired boy saw Bryan's smirk, Kenny's knowing smile, and Max's blush. The neko-jin walked towards them, waving when the three had seen him.

"HEY REI!" Max yelled, as his voice echoed throughout the fields. Though he blushes with embarrassment, nothing would seem to dampen Max's hyper aura.

"So, had a good night's sleep?" asked Bryan, widening the smirk he once had when his lilac eyes saw Rei blush.

Rei on the other hand was **not **enjoying this at all! He was just supposed to do a bit of training and ask them why Max was blushing furiously! Now look what happened…Bryan wouldn't probably stop annoying him with questions like the one he asked now. The neko-jin sighed, he should have just protested at Kai's suggestion when he had the chance. But then again, everyone would wonder where they were…

Kenny adjusted his glasses, and sighed. "Guys, if you keep on talking like this, we'll end up with no training at all!" After the brunette had said that, Bryan stopped smirking, Rei sighed with relief, and Max has turned from hyper to seriousness in less than a minute. With that, they had begun their sparring matches.

Max and Kenny were first up for the training; while Rei and Bryan were stretching their muscles by the sidelines.

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Meanwhile, Kai had walked towards the dojo for a sword wielding practice. When he had entered the dojo, he already saw Dizzi and Tala clashing their blades together in a harmonic yet aggressive way. Though, as Kai entered further into the dojo, he noticed that Tyson hasn't come in yet. He snorted at that, thinking of such stupid things. Tyson won't wake up by himself to train early in the morning so there's no point into looking for him inside the dojo

Tala and Dizzi didn't notice the slate-haired boy enter for they were too wrapped up and concentrated at the task at hand: disarm the opponent as fast as possible. Kai had to smirk at the two's sword's skills, no matter how many years they've been training, they still stick to the basics, like what they're doing now.

"I guess we could have our break time now," Tala panted for air, as he put down his sword and gave a light smirk towards Dizzi.

Dizzi gave him a small smirk back and agreed with the older boy that they should rest before Kai or Tyson would come, still unaware of the crimson-eyed boys presence. "You know…it's weird. Kai's usually up this early, I wonder what's up with him now."

Tala snorted as he took a seat on the floor with his legs crossed and his arms crossed over his chest. "Don't bother about Kai, Diz. I assure you he's probably of making his fantasies into reality in that bedroom. Gods…I never want to go there now." Dizzi gave a small giggle as Tala scrunched up his nose in mock disgust.

"Are you sure your talking about me, Tala? Or are you talking about yourself?" Kai finally made his appearance known to the both, giving them a snide remark at Tala's opinion, which even made Dizzi giggle even more.

"Hah, your just jealous because your not getting **it**. Well…not yet anyway," Tala retorted back, which made Dizzi's giggle into an open laugh, pounding the floor with her fist.

Kai gave an evil smirk towards the other boy. "And you aren't?"

What Kai had said made Dizzi laugh so much that she was rolling down on the floor with both her arms clutching her stomach. Both Kai and Tala had stopped their little argument and stared at their best friend like some mental.

Tala put his hand on Dizzi's forehead and felt it just in case the girl has a fever or something. "Diz, are you ok? Maybe all that training had gotten too much to your brain and now you had a mental haywire or something…"

"Tala, I'm fine! And who are you calling mental?!" Dizzi pushed Tala's hand away from her forehead and gave the red head a deadly glare.

"Err…no one?"

Dizzi rolled her eyes and gave a glare towards Kai's way. Kai for one was perplexed; for one thing, Dizzi never gives him a glare unless there's a very serious thing going on. "And where the hell were you?! You're like Mr. Early bird and now look at you! You're slacking off!"

"Dizzi, I wasn't THAT late," Kai said and then went to the middle of the room and sat down with his legs crossed to start his meditating before starting on his routine.

Dizzi sighed. Of course Kai was right, he wasn't that late, in fact he was just right on time! The sun hasn't even risen up by the mountains yet when Kai comes down to the dojo to train. "Okay fine, you're right." She stood up and gave her muscles a stretch. "I'm going to wake up Tyson. He should be down here now, seeing that he slept the whole afternoon yesterday. Be right back you guys!"

With that, Dizzi left the dojo leaving an exhausted Tala and a meditating Kai in the room. With the silence consuming the room, it was making Tala irritated and you don't want Tala irritated, especially in the morning.

"So how was your sleep?" he asked, making Kai open one of his crimson eyes and stare at the red head. "Sod off, Tala. Can't you see I'm meditating here?" Kai said, closing his eye again, and tried to ignore the other boy.

"Oh come on, Kai! Did you confess your undying love for Rei yet? You do know that he's waiting for you to say that." Tala kept on pushing onto the subject.

Kai sighed and again opened his eyes to look at his friend. "You're not going to drop this subject until Dizzi and Tyson come down here, am I right?" He saw Tala nodded his head vigorously. "Fine, I'll tell you."

Tala gave a triumphant cheer and sat right across from Kai. "Are you sure you still want to know?" asked Kai again, crossing his arms over his chest.

"YES!"

"Ok…hold out your ear so it faces toward me." Tala did what Kai had said and waited for Kai's response.

Kai took a deep breath and,

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!" yelled in Tala's ear making the icy-blue eyed boy wince at Kai's loud tone. He was sure he could hear his eardrums ringing…

"Oh, hell Kai! What the fuck was that for?!" Tala said, making Kai shrug and continue on with his meditating.

"Hey you said you wanted to know."

Unknown to Tala and Kai, two people had walked inside the dojo and heard what the crimson-eyed boy said. "Wanted to know what?" asked Dizzi. It seemed like forever but Dizzi and Tyson had **finally** come to start training.

Hearing Dizzi's question, an idea came to Kai's mind. Usually he won't be doing this during his meditation time but there's a first time for everything, right? Anyway, besides it would be a very good idea to pick on Tala right now. He hadn't a good laugh, err…or smirk in a few days.

"Do you really want to know?" asked Kai, while Tyson was doing his stretches and Dizzi was sitting right beside him, also meditating. Dizzi gave Tala a look just in case if Kai was lying. She saw Tala's head shook from side to side, saying that she shouldn't trust Kai today. But she was so curious! It's not fair that Tala knows and she doesn't.

"Yes I want to know, NOW SPILL IT!" she said to Kai.

Tala sighed. 'Oh well,' he thought. 'It's her own fault that she didn't listen to me.'

Kai gave Tala a smirk and turned towards Dizzi so his facing her. "Well, this happened when you were sick…" he trailed off, making Dizzi more curious than ever.

Hearing this, Tyson stopped stretching and joined Kai and Dizzi at their conversation. The bluenette gave a small smirk when he had remembered what happened at the time, which included Tala, surprisingly Bryan, a goblet full of, err…sticky substance, and a feathery bed. Seeing Tyson's smirk, Tala was sure that it was something bad…real bad; and he knows that he had something to do about it!

"Is it the thing?" asked Tyson, making Kai smirked wider and nodded. "Haha…count me in!"

"You know…I'm still waiting here!" Dizzi tapped her fingernails on the floor impatiently, making Kai and Tyson sweat drop.

"Ok, it was like this…"

_-- Flashback -- (Don't you guys just love flashbacks? Oh, and this happened when Bryan was sick, enjoy! --smiles--)_

_"Bryan, come on, just drink it!"_

_"No, I won't drink it!"_

_Bryan crossed his arms and cringed at the sight of the goblet. Inside the goblet was a black gooey, sticky substance that looks like tar. But then again, it might be tar so Bryan didn't actually trusted the liquid straight away. Anyway, no matter how stubborn Bryan is, he still can't believe that Tala is even more stubborn than he is! And more persistent to boot! Also caring, generous, hot, cute…err, ok now that's off topic._

_Tala on the other hand was finding this very, very difficult. Why can't just Bryan drink the herbal drink and be done with it? To tell you the truth, even though Tala's not going to drink this substance, the smell was foul, really foul. Why, just one more scent of that smelly thing coming inside Tala's nose and the poor boy would faint!_

_"Come on, Bry. Please?" Tala had given up on using the cute puppy-dog look since very surprisingly, Bryan was immune to it. And it seems like he was the only one who's immune to it too, unlike the rest they were all whipped with just one puppy-dog look._

_Bryan once again shook his head indicating that he won't drink it and he never **ever** will. 'Man…how could persistent can he get?' he thought, while Tala was trying to make another attempt to make the lilac-haired boy drink the substance. Though he was doing a very good job of resisting in to any of Tala's pleas, Bryan was getting close to surrendering. With one more plea from Tala, then he would just probably have to give up and drink the watery shit._

_As if Tala and Bryan's minds think alike, the red head was also close from making Bryan drink the medicine to giving up and tell Bryan that he shouldn't drink the substance anymore. Poor Tala…he was running out of ideas and pleas, and worst thing, he was also on a verge of tears. And Tala Ivanov doesn't shed tears over stupid, little things like this! Anyway, although he was **this** close to "shedding tears" he was also getting pissed. At what was he pissed? At Bryan's stubbornness of course! Apparently, ahem, Tala doesn't like it when someone's more stubborn than him. _

"Bryan, this is the only way for you to get better! Now drink the damn liquid!" Tala said again, though a little angrier.

_"The only way for you to make **me** take that stupid medicine, is to push me down to the bed and force the freaking goblet on my mouth!" Bryan retorted, while glaring at Tala._

_After hearing Bryan's retort, Tala suddenly had an idea. He stood up from the armchair he was sitting on, and grabbed the goblet. Silently, he walked slowly where Bryan was sitting (he was sitting in the side of the bed with his eyes closed), and just before Bryan could open his eyes, Tala tackled him down on the bed. The red headed boy straddled Bryan's legs and arms to prevent him from moving and with that, Tala put the goblet into Bryan's mouth, letting him drink the foul stuff._

_Poor Bryan, he tried to move but Tala had trapped his arms and legs. So he only did one thing: scream. He screamed so loud that probably the whole kingdom heard it. _

_"AAAHHHHHHHH!!!! LET GO OF ME, DAMN IT!"_

_"NOT UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED THE WHOLE GOBLET! OR AT LEAST HALF OF IT!"_

_Tala and Bryan were to busy arguing to drink or not to drink the goblet that they didn't even realized that three people had barged inside Bryan's room. Tyson, Kenny and Kai had come in to see what was the entire racket. When they had come inside the chamber, they were surprised at the sight in front of them. There was Tala with a goblet on his hand lying on top of Bryan who struggling to get out of Tala's clutches._

_Kai and Tyson were amused at the sight in front of them to say at least. They thought that both Tala and Bryan were getting it on. While the two were watching in amusement, poor Kenny thought of something else._

_"AAAHHHH!!! TALA'S SEXUALLY HARRASSING BRYAN! HELP! ANYONE! SAVE MY BEST FRIEND!" Poor Kenny was running in circles, thinking what could he possibly do to help Bryan._

_Hearing Kenny's shriek, Tala stopped on what he was doing and stared at the doorway. There were Kenny, Tyson and Kai; two of them (Kai and Tyson) were laughing their asses off, while the other one (Kenny) was running around in circles, screaming. Seeing that this was his opportunity to get away, Bryan pushed Tala off him, and stood up from the bed, seeing Tyson and Kai still laughing their asses off 'till kingdom come and Kenny running around in circles._

_"What the hell is going in on?!" Bryan yelled. "Why the hell are you guys laughing? Why the hell Kenny's screaming bloody murder?! Why the he—ACHOO!"_

_-- End Flashback --_

"And so Tala had explained everything to us three, and Bryan had managed to calm Kenny down. Haha…man, you have been there, Dizzi, it was a riot!" Tyson laughed while Dizzi just nodded, trying not to laugh again.

Kai smirked when Tala was glaring at all three of them. "You know…it wasn't all **that** funny." Tala muttered, while crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're right, Tala, it wasn't funny. It was hilarious!" Tyson said, laughing again while Kai kept on smirking.

"Hilarious? I'll show you hilarious!" Tala was about to grab Tyson's arm but Tyson had already started running right out the dojo and into the fields.

"AAAHHHHHHH!!!!! HELP, SOMEONE! THERE'S A PSYCHOTIC PERSON HERE!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING PSYCHOTIC, YOU FAT ASS!"

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After a hard training, Max, Kenny, Rei and Bryan had finally rest after a much hard of punching and kicking each other's guts, legs and arms. While resting under the tree, Rei heard a scream from out the castle and entrance and saw that it was Tyson who was being chased by Tala out into the fields and straight into where him and the others are.

"Wonder what Kinomiya had done to piss Tala off now…" Bryan muttered, while smirking at sight of his lover chasing the younger boy around.

Rei look towards Max's way and saw that the blond's eyes have a worried look in them. That conclusion made Rei to wonder if something had happened during the night, or maybe… the neko-jin shook his head. He was just thinking too much, that's all. Rei turned his head again towards the castle entrance and saw Kai and Dizzi walking towards them. Both were smirking at the sight of Tala and Tyson running around like cat and mouse.

"Hey everyone!" Dizzi waved at Rei and the others and took a seat right beside—surprise, surprise—Kenny.

"What did Tyson do now to piss Tala off?" asked Bryan while Kai took as seat beside—surprise, surprise again—Rei.

Dizzi gave a small giggle. "Well, Kai and Tyson felt that today is "Piss and Annoy Tala" day and decided to tell me that incident when Max, Rei, you and I were sick, Bryan."

Bryan's eyes widened and look towards Kai, who was smirking at him. They told Dizzi that?! Rei, not knowing what the three were talking about, was just completely dumbfounded, while Max was still watching Tala and Tyson, and Kenny was blushing embarrassedly, remembering what happened in that "incident."

"Could somebody be nice and generous to tell me what had happened?" asked Rei, as his amber eyes shifted to look at Bryan, Kai, Dizzi and Kenny repeatedly.

"We'll tell you later, after this little chase has finished." Dizzi said. "Which means that we have to wait at least an hour, since they won't be tired for **that** long."

Rei sighed. Dizzi's right; the last time this thing had happened, it took for at least one and a half hours for them to wait and that took a very long time. He saw that Dizzi had lay down on the grass and was watching the sky; while Bryan and Max were watching their lovers chase one another. Rei looked at Kenny and saw that the brunette was reading yet another book—though the neko-jin was confused on how Kenny got the book, for when he had arrived in the fields he saw that there was no book in sight—and last but not the least, the raven-haired neko-jin looked at his fiancé.

Kai was leaning against the tree with his eyes closed. Was he really that tired? As if on cue, Kai opened his eyes and caught Rei staring at him.

"Is there something on my face?" Kai smirked when he saw Rei blushed faintly.

"Well, except for the shark fins on your cheeks, there's nothing there," replied Rei, also leaning in the tree, but he had let his head lean on Kai's shoulder, which surprised the both of them.

Unknown to the engaged couple, Kenny and Dizzi were silently watching them. "What a cute sight," Dizzi murmured, while Kenny nodded with agreement.

"Such a shame that it won't happen to me for a while…"

"Huh?" Kenny looked at her.

Dizzi blushed a nice shade of fuchsia on her cheeks. "Err…no, I didn't say anything!"

Kenny thought that there was something else going on with the girl, but he decided no to push her any further and went back into reading his book. Meanwhile Dizzi rolled over to her side and sighed with relief.

'Whew, that was a close one.'

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Like what Dizzi predicted, Tala chased Tyson around the fields for at least an hour. Poor Tyson, by the time they had finished running around the area, there were twigs in his hair, and his legs were so numb that they can't even feel the weight of Max's head when the other boy had lied down on him.

"So you guys are together now?" asked Rei, while Tyson just grinned while running his hand through Max's blond locks.

Dizzi clapped her hands. "That is so cute! Two of my best friends FINALLY had the guts! Now that only leaves…" She gave a knowing look towards Kai's way, who just ignored the look that Dizzi was giving him.

"Yeah well Dizzi, you sometimes THEY can be STUBBORN like a DONKEY!" Tala gave a smirk towards Kai's way as well.

"REEIIIIII!!!!!!!!!"

Rei groaned and put his hands on his forehead. Its way too early for that now though it seems like luck was against Rei today and let the pink freak from hell attach herself on to Rei's arm.

"There you are! I was looking for you so we could train together, eat lunch together, and then maybe spend time together, alone! Oh, wouldn't **that** be fun, Rei-Rei?" chatted Mariah as if the other people around her and her cousin weren't there.

"Umm…uh…" just mumbled Rei, since when he starts to decline Mariah's suggestions, the other girl just interrupts him. "Come on, Rei! I doubt you even had your breakfast, have you? Tsk, tsk, tsk…your little friends have no consideration at all! But don't worry, Mariah's here to help!" With that, the pink freak dragged the poor raven-haired neko-jin inside the castle, leaving a few pissed off people by the tree.

Kai is one of those pissed off people. He was practically seeing red as he watch his fiancé get taken away from Mariah. He's even mad at himself and for what? For letting the pink spawn from hell take **his** Rei away from him! Whoa…since when did Rei become his?

"She makes me so mad that I'd freaking pull those ugly pink hair of hers," muttered Dizzi darkly, as her hands were twitching every now and then.

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**Crystal:** There we go! --smiles-- The next chapter would probably be updated for at least a week, so I'm really sorry if I have to make you guys wait. Well, anyway, don't forget to review! Ja ne, minna-san!


	17. Fitting of the robes and lookie more mem...

**Crystal: **Hello everyone! Well… on the last chapter I said that it would take a week for me to update and it turned out that it became two/three weeks? I'm really sorry for the late update… I didn't mean for you guys to wait too long. -.-;

**_Thanks to:_** Moon Bind, Devlinn Reiko-sama, Yaoi Tiger, Saber-kon, Raku Ozzarian Princess, Game-Kid17, Prozacfairy, Dead yet a love sick puppy, Devilburns, Lady AA-chan, Shadow Tigress a.k.a Kit, Kodoku Wolf, Phoenixflame905, Koneko no Rei, SoulSister, Shanna, Kai-cutie-angel, TNTiggris, Foxdemon, Emiz, YL Granger, Tariki Rania, Songs make me cry, Keisan, Enelya Aldarion, SorrowWolf, Nekomoongirl, Shirohikari, Forfirith-on-a-sugar-high, Wolf whirl, Nothinglittlegirl, EternalElement, Neko Phoenix Girl, Neko Jin, and XxMaster-ExX!

I'm sorry if there aren't any responses for this chapter. Though for being great reviewers and readers, I give you free t-shirts with Kai's signature on them and an eternal supply of Gummi Bears!

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Disclaimer:

** --gasp-- You think that I own Beyblade? =) I'm really flattered… but no… I don't own Beyblade… x.x 

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**Breathe – Chapter 17: Fitting of the Robes and lookie…more memories!**

Rei drifted off to his thoughts as Mariah kept on blabbering about some things that he, Rei doesn't get at all. The poor neko-jin was really… disappointed at the least. He wanted to spend more time with his friends, and of course Kai. But what does he get? He gets an annoying pink-haired of a cousin, and a numb arm. Kai: that name can get Rei blush and---surprisingly---giggle at the name when it's mentioned. He still can't actually think that he would fall in love with the slate-haired boy, since after all, they weren't actually getting along when they first met.

_-- Flashback -- _

_Rei ran away as fast as he can until he reached his bedroom. He still can't believe that he had done that! Rei Kon, an innocent neko-jin who always thinks pranks and whatnot are offensive…especially to the victims. When he entered his bedroom, slammed the door shut and bolted it so no one would get in, he leaned against it and gave a small yet triumphant giggle._

_'Hah! That'll teach him **not** to mess with me!'_

_As you can see, it seems that Rei once again had done something evil on the one and only Kai. He was really getting on the neko-jin's nerves lately. When Rei had entered the library since the adults want them to get more educated even though there's a wedding preparation going on, Kai had suddenly gave a rude comment at Rei's way, which ensued into another verbal insult._

_When the two gave words of rudeness to each other, the other people who were also in the library, they couldn't help but sigh in exasperation yet watch in amusement. They sighed in exasperation because they're getting sick of Kai and Rei arguing all the time, even though they're fighting over small little things (like who gets to read the book first, etc…); and they also watched in amusement because, hey, lessons can be really boring at times too._

_Now, back to the matters at hand. Just as Rei was about to lose his sanity, there was a big pound on the door, indicating that someone had followed Rei and that someone was utterly pissed off at the neko-jin. _

_"KON! Grr…GET OUT OF THAT PATHETIC ROOM YOUR SLEEPING IN AND TELL ME HOW TO GET RID OF THIS CRAP!" Wow…the person who has that voice was surely angry, which made Rei laugh even more._

_"Why not, Hiwatari? It suits you even better!" Rei had managed to yell with all the laughing that he's doing._

_Meanwhile, Kai was **not** having a good day. Well…he was having an all right day, but that stupid fiancé of his just had to ruin it all by showing up in the library so they could study. And of course, being the cold-hearted and evil little boy that he is, the crimson-eyed boy gave a small, little insult towards Rei's direction and as we all predict: chaos ensued. Insults were thrown at each other back and forth like a game, and it seemed that those insults were rolling off their tongues naturally, like they were born to keep on insulting each other until the end of the eternity._

_As the result of the verbal insult contest, Rei stormed off the library, making Kai look all smug, thinking that he had won the battle (though to tell you the truth, the battle was far from over). What he had not known, Rei had come back again inside the library, though he wasn't alone. He had a gigantic bucket full of some liquid with err…stuff in it that for some odd reasons that the colour of the liquid was…pink. Anyway, Kai didn't know that Rei crept up to him quietly (one of the neko-jin's wonderful talents) and poured the entire bucket from the top of his head, letting all the icky liquid flow down from his hair, to his clothes, until to his footwear._

_-- End Flashback --_

Rei gave a small chuckle at the thought, making Mariah look at him disgustingly dreamy and all mushy like, thinking that what she had said made her cousin laugh.

"I know you would agree with me, Rei-Rei!" she had yelled, pretending to wipe the fake tears from her eyes. "Hiwatari really is such a big meanie who needs a life."

When Rei had heard the insult that Mariah had given to Kai, the neko-jin went berserk and immediately pulled his arm off Mariah's death grip, making the girl have a hurt look in her eyes.

"Mariah," he said in a monotone voice (which he hardly ever uses)---making Mariah shiver in fear---and faced Mariah with his eyes turning to slits ever so slightly. "I think we need to discuss something."

Mariah, who was slightly disturbed at her cousin's sudden change of façade towards her, looked at Rei dejectedly, confused at what Rei was about to say. "W-what are you talking about, Rei?"

Rei gave a sigh, and rubbed his temples impatiently. "You know what? I'll just cut to the chase. NEVER, EVER talk about Kai like that again, all right? You don't know him enough to be judged to early, so leave him alone!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm…in love with him. And if you keep on insulting him like that, then I might just not even look at you in face anymore."

Mariah was dumbstruck, her cousin's in love with that cold-hearted bastard like Kai? The pink-haired freak was devastated and confused. This wasn't supposed to happen! This was just all wrong… they weren't supposed to get married all lovey-dovey with each other! They were supposed to get married only as an arranged married suppose to be! A nice couple that doesn't know each other get married, make an heir for the throne, and that's it! Nothing else!

"Why him? Can't you also see that I'm in love with you as well?" Mariah demanded, anger rising up in her veins.

"Mariah…I only love you as a cousin or perhaps a sister and nothing else. I'm…quite surprised that you're in love with me more than a cousin, but I'll never ever feel for you that way. The love that you're feeling for me is the same way I'm feeling for Kai, and maybe perhaps even more than that. I'm sorry to bring this all down to you just like that." Rei had explained to his cousin, and with that he walked ahead inside the castle, leaving a rejected pink-haired freak standing there, with her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

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Breakfast was awfully quiet, especially towards where Kai, Rei and the others were sitting. Tala, Dizzi, Tyson and even Kai was surprised when Mariah wasn't giving them a sneering glare, and instead a blank look towards their way, and a heartbreaking look towards Rei. Meanwhile, the neko-jin was sensing that look Mariah was giving him and for some odd reason, he couldn't help but be guilty at the situation. Was he too harsh when he rejected her? Guilt was consuming his mind, making him not eat his pancakes.

Kai noticed that Rei wasn't being his usual self, but instead he was poking around his food, and the raven-haired beauty was lost in thought. The slate-haired boy looked at his fianc's cousin and saw that Mariah was also poking her food around, not eating one bit. Crimson eyes were narrowing at the situation. Something has happened and it involves Rei and his cousin. He was sure of it, and he does not like this one bit. What if the pink-haired freak had tried to molest Rei? And he wasn't even there to protect Rei! Jealousy and Anger were rushing in Kai's veins, making him push the knife he was using on the surface of the table so hard that it was stuck there.

Everybody looked at the crimson-eyed boy in confusion and astonishment.

"Kai? Are you ok?" Rei pushed aside his thoughts and looked at Kai with concern pouring through his eyes. Kai nodded his head, slightly surprised that he had managed to stab the table with a butter knife… "Did something happened about you and that cousin of yours?" asked Kai suddenly when everyone had finished gawking at him and the butter knife.

Rei bit his bottom lip nervously; he didn't really want to tell Kai about what happened before breakfast, thinking that Kai would gloat over Mariah, making him even guiltier than ever. But then again, if he told someone this then this guilt that had been lingering in his mind would go away, and all the weight on his shoulders would be lifted off, right?

In the meantime, Kai was just looking at Rei, waiting patiently for the neko-jin to respond. Suddenly, the crimson-eyed boy shifted his eyes from Rei to Mariah a couple of times, jumping off to conclusions without consulting Rei to what happened first. Kai, who was possessive and protective over Rei ever since Mariah had come over, started to snarl quietly, though Rei heard it (another wonderful talent of the neko-jin).

"It's nothing, Kai," Rei said hurriedly, for he knows what's going to happen next and he doesn't want it to happen. He's already feeling sorry for Mariah, and she doesn't need Kai yelling at her.

Kai didn't believe Rei one bit, though he decided to let it slide. He felt that Rei was already feeling bad and he didn't want him to feel more miserable. Although he decided to have a little discussion with Mariah, without Rei knowing… after all, if Rei doesn't know, then no one would get hurt.

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After that quiet breakfast, Mariah walked silently in the corridors, heading towards at her chambers. Suddenly she just felt very tired and weary. To tell you the truth, she never really expected that speech from her Rei… She shook her head violently; it's not "her Rei" anymore…it's "his Rei". She still can't believe that Rei loves that cold-hearted bastard, after all, from what she had heard from her aunt and uncle that Rei **hates** Kai…she just doesn't get it. How can you love someone that you absolutely hate?

When she was about to enter her bedroom, someone blocked Mariah. When she looked up to see who it was, she saw crimson eyes, staring at her with pure loathsome. Suddenly, her golden eyes turned into slits, recognizing whom those crimson eyes belong to.

"What do _you_ want?" she hissed.

Kai, who was blocking Mariah from the door, glared at her until she started to shiver. "What the hell did you do to Rei?" he hissed back, making Mariah whimper in fear.

"Why would I do something to my own cousin?" she retorted, trying to be brave even though she knows that it won't work.

"I don't know what you did," The crimson-eyed boy took a deep breath so he could calm down, and tried not to punch the day lights out of Mariah (he would be in BIG trouble if he did). "But stay away from **my** Rei, you got that?" With that, Kai left a terrified Mariah in the corridors. But what he didn't know was that a pair of eyes was looking at the situation, and frowned.

Kai walked away from Mariah as if nothing had ever happened. He smirked triumphantly, while heading towards the library since he has some reading to catch up on. He never noticed that he was being followed, but then again, the footsteps that were following them were really quiet; so he wouldn't be able hear it. The crimson-eyed boy entered the library, he picked up the book he was currently reading, and took a seat sideways on his favourite armchair, with his leg dangling over the armrest, which was very un-Kai like.

Too engrossed at book he was reading, Kai didn't even notice someone was standing right in front of him, their hands resting by their hips, and with their lips pursued. It was then the said person cleared their throat made Kai stop reading and look up, only to meet with a pair of disappointed, yet hurt/guilty golden eyes of a certain raven-haired neko-jin.

Kai didn't know that Rei saw his little encounter with the pink-haired girl, so he assumed that the disappointed look from Rei's eyes that Kai was seeing was something else. "Rei is something wrong?" he asked.

"I don't believe you," was all Rei said, making Kai slap his forehead inwardly. Rei had seen the whole thing? The crimson-eyed boy stood up from his seat and walked through one of the shelves, ignoring that the fact Rei was following him. "How could you, Kai? I told you to leave it alone!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kai! I know that you know exactly what I'm talking about! Why'd you have to yell at Mariah like that? She didn't do anything!"

The crimson-eyed boy turned around to look at Rei's golden eyes. He walked towards the neko-jin, slowly, while his eyes are having a possessive look in them. Rei noticed that and he started to back away from the older boy; though, unfortunately for Rei he ran out room. So now his back was leaning to the bookshelf, with his eyes wide with anxiousness.

"Uhh…Kai…w-what are you d-doing…"

"Two words, Rei: Shut up." With that Kai crushed his lips towards Rei's cherubic ones into a passionate kiss.

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Max looked at Kai and Rei back and forth, from his book. Both were seriously quiet, and every time they would look each other in the eye, they would blush and look away. That made the blond thoroughly confused; they weren't acting like that before breakfast. His cheerful, blue eyes looked at his lover, who was sitting by his side, reading a book about… food. Max decided not to bother Tyson, so he looked over to Bryan, who was sitting right beside him, talking to Tala.

"Psst… Bryan?" he asked, making Bryan and Tala look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed how the way Kai and Rei are acting towards each other?" Max jerked his head, indicating that the pair should look at Kai and Rei.

Tala and Bryan looked at Kai and Rei's way and of course, Max was right. Kai had a book with him; either he was actually reading on it, or he was using it was a shield so no one could think that he was staring at Rei, which was rather an amusing sight to Tala. Rei has a book as well, though on the other hand, he was actually reading, you could tell because he looked engrossed at the book, and he was chuckling at some parts that no one understands, this amused Bryan, because his best friend was too wrapped up reading that the neko-jin wasn't even noticing that Kai was giving him a lustful look.

Max waited for the older boys' responses, until Dizzi came into the room, looking like she was going to explode with happiness.

"Guess what?" She asked, noticing how awkward Kai and Rei act towards each other, though she didn't say anything about it.

Tyson looked up from his book, and gave Dizzi a quizzical look. "You're getting your brain fixed?"

Everybody except Tyson could tell that Dizzi's left eye was twitching out of fury and that her hands were ready to strangle the blue-haired boy; though to their surprise, Dizzi ignored Tyson's comment and kept on smiling, which freaked everybody out. She plopped down on one of the cushioned armchair right beside Kenny.

"Well? Aren't you going to tell us why are you all happy and junk?" asked Tyson.

"Well, I was just told by my father that the people who are going to measure us for the robes and junk are coming here, tomorrow! Can you believe it? We're this," Dizzi put her thumb and index finger together, "Close for the wedding to take place!" She gave a squeal and her eyes were teary eyed. "My childhood friend… he's grown up so much."

Kai gave Dizzi a slight glare, ignored the girl's little moment, and continued read---I mean staring at the book---I mean staring at Rei. He was busy staring at the neko-jin so much that he didn't even noticed Tala and the rest had left them in the library all alone, until he heard the door being locked. The same with the neko-jin as well, he was too wrapped-up reading his novel that he never noticed that all of their friends were gone, though he did heard footsteps leaving and the door locking.

Both heads turned towards the door and their widened in surprise.

"What the hell?!"

Meanwhile, outside the door, a few giggles and snickers from the people who locked the door when they had heard both Kai and Rei said, "What the hell?!". Dizzi had to stuff in her fist at her mouth just to prevent from laughing too loud, while the others were leaning on the wall or on each other, to prevent from falling over.

Dizzi gave Max a high five and giggled more. "Man, am I good or what?"

Tyson frowned and gave Dizzi a look. "What do you mean you're good?" He gave a smug smile and puffed his chest out with pride. "I'm the one that had the idea to lock them in the room in the first place!"

After Tyson had said that, silence engulfed the whole corridor until,

"HAHAHAHAHAHA…" Everybody except Max had started laughing very loudly, making the maids who were cleaning the paintings look at them and see if either their Masters or Mistress still has their sanity left.

Tyson was insulted; he wasn't even being funny! So why the heck were his friends laughing like they had heard some joke? The blue-haired boy crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. His lover looked at their friends like they were some weirdoes and patted Tyson's arm. "Oh come on, Tyson," Max whispered quietly. "They were only joking."

It took at least ten whole minutes for the gang to calm down, and wipe tears off their face, Bryan being one of them. "Man… Kinomiya, that was some nice joke. Thanks for giving me a good laugh."

"I **wasn't** being funny," Tyson retorted, while Max was soothing him by patting his arm.

Tala raised his red brow. "Are you sure you didn't? Because that really was a good joke, Tyson."

"I TOLD YOU, IT'S NOT A JOKE!"

Everybody (now it's including Max) was looking at Tyson; the blue-haired teen's face was fuming and there were veins popping out of anger. He never really gets mad at anything, except for when someone tries to steal his precious food. Tyson was about to yell more when,

"WOULD YOU PEOPLE SHUT UP? YOU LOCK US HERE AND NOW YOU'RE BEING LOUD TOO? CAN'T YOU SEE THAT WE'RE READING?" Kai had yelled through the door, obviously annoyed at the racket that Tyson and the others were making.

Six pairs of eyes blinked slightly while staring at the locked library door.

Tala shrugged nonchalantly and preceded to go to the dojo to get some training, though I don't think that, that would happen since Bryan was following him.

Kenny headed down towards to the other library to continue his reading (there's like at least three libraries in the castle), though while he was walking, he kept his eyes on his book, reading.

Tyson and Max snorted and thought that what Kai meant to say is that **he** was staring, NOT reading and went down to the kitchen area.

And last but not the least, Dizzi went to her room.

The dark violet-eyed girl went inside her room and gave a small sigh. It seemed that every single one of her friends have their special someone except her. She walked towards a desk and pulled out a drawer; inside the drawer there was a small stack of paper, obviously something that she has been writing on. Dizzi took out the manuscript and jumped on her fluffy bed, taking her time for the softness of the mattress cuddle at her face. After she had done that she looked at the pieces of paper that her hands were holding and read them.

She re-reads them again, only this time though she started to sing the words that were imprinted on the paper. Her voice was so heavenly that a certain someone that was passing by her bedroom door had heard it, and now they were standing right in front of the door and was listening at Dizzi's voice.

Said someone had knocked into the door, making the singing voice stop.

When Dizzi had opened the door, she was surprised to Kenny outside her door. "Kenny! What's up?"

"Umm… uhh… I… I w-was just passing by a-and I heard this really good voice singing and I realized that it was in your room…" Kenny trailed off, feeling embarrassed that he's making a fool of himself in front of the girl he had a crush on.

Dizzi, who was getting Max's naivety, just blinked and smiled. She grabbed Kenny's arm and pulled him inside her room, making the poor boy, who was blushing fiercely by the way, startled at the action. "So… what exactly did you hear?" she asked, as she plopped down into the bed, while Kenny just took a seat at a random chair.

"Well… I really didn't hear the exact words, but I'm sure they're really nice." 'Meaning that you're voice was heavenly,' Kenny added though he only said it through his mind, as if Dizzi can read minds or something.

In the meantime, Dizzi was kind of arguing with her inner thoughts. You see… as we all know, during the recent events of Wedding planning and preparations, she had developed feelings for the brunet, and right now she's actually thinking about telling him…

Right now…

In her own bedroom…

Oh what possibilities could there be…

She shook her head inwardly and scolded herself. Oh how could she think of such a thing? He probably doesn't like her _that_ way, that's for sure. Dizzi sighed loudly, making Kenny look at her with concern.

"Is something bothering you, Dizzi?" he asked, while walking towards the bed.

Dizzi shrugged and gave an ironic smile. "You know… it's kind of weird that our friends have someone to be with, while the both of us are still single…"

"What do you mean?" Kenny sat down at the edge of the bed, his forehead cringing slightly.

"Well… it's just that Tala has Bryan… and then Tyson has Max… and Kai would probably get Rei in the end despite how clingy Rei's cousin is…"

Kenny looked at Dizzi's depressed look that's etched on her pale complexion. He just has to make her happy again… though what should he say to comfort her?

'Well… you could start by telling her how much you like---maybe even love---her' his inner thoughts piped up.

Kenny looked at Dizzi's face; her eyes were closed and it appears like she's sleeping, and peacefully at that. 'What if she doesn't feel the same way?'

'Then take a risk… that's what your friends did, and look how they turned out…'

The brunet sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. As much as he hates to admit that his inner thoughts were right; either tell her or just watch her from a far… So then, Kenny took a deep breath and tapped Dizzi on the shoulder.

"Hey, Dizzi?"

Dizzi sat up and looked deep into Kenny's eyes, regardless of the boy's glasses being in the way. She tilted her head, indicating that she was waiting for Kenny to say something to her; though on the inside she couldn't help but be nervous. What if he's going to say that he loves another girl or boy from his kingdom and he needs her advice? Oh she would never, ever bear the thought. The dark violet-eyed girl looked in an anxious yet amused at Kenny's appearance.

Right now the poor boy was blushing so much that you would probably think that he's a human tomato when it's the first time you've met him, not only that, when he's trying to talk, his mouth would open and then in a second it would close again (like what fishes do when they breathe).

Kenny's look made Dizzi have made yet another conclusion, though only this time it was a positive one instead of a negative. Dizzi had this really shrewd idea that maybe… just maybe… Kenny would feel the same way and she would have a happy ending.

"Well… I w-was just going to say that… umm… I-I mean, that I…" Kenny stuttered, his already red face was still going red, making a fool of himself more.

Dizzi just smiled lovingly at him and said, "Kenny? Just shut up and kiss me."

And you know what happened? He did.

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"Why am I going first?"

"I already told you! You're the one who's getting married so it would be right that you and Kai would be measured first!"

Rei sighed as he waited patiently in his and Kai's room with Dizzi and Kai for the tailor and designers to show up. "Then, what are you doing here?"

Dizzi gave a cheerful smile and gave a wink. "I'm here to make sure that the both of you don't make anything too… drastic that, that would make your hormones drive to the edge." She turned her cheerful smile into a smirk when she saw Rei blushed a pretty shade of red, while Kai was glaring at her, though he has a small tinge of red that's contrasting against his two blue shark fins that are painted in his cheeks.

Just as Kai was about to snap at Dizzi, at least three people came in the room, with a measuring tape, scissors, different kinds of fabric, and pins. By the time all three people came into the room, Dizzi stood up from her seat and smoothed out her dress. She gave Kai and Rei a small, yet mischievous smile and left the room, after she gave a small bow to the three people.

"Okay, now let's get started," one of the three people said, while the other two were moving a wooden block so that when either Kai or Rei could stand on them, the tailor would be able to measure them and try the fabric on them easily. "Who's… Kon Rei here?"

Rei stood up from the armchair reluctantly and gave Kai a look, as if he was asking permission to the older boy. Kai just gave a small, yet reassuring smile towards the neko-jin's way, making Rei feel at ease. The neko-jin walked towards at the wooden block and stood on it, waiting for the tailor to just get it over with the fitting and whatnot.

While he was being measured for his clothing, Rei couldn't help but wonder what would he wear for the wedding. Was he going to wear a dress, or a warrior suit? The neko-jin kept on giving secret glances towards Kai's way, afraid that he would get embarrassed in front of the slate-haired boy if he asked what kind of clothing would he wear.

As if the tailor was reading Rei's mind, the tailor gave a low chuckle. "You're wondering what you're going to wear the wedding, am I correct?" he asked, making Rei look at him surprisingly.

"Umm… yeah…"

"But you're too embarrassed to ask since your fiancé is leaning on the wall across the room, am I correct again?"

Again, Rei nodded, getting freaked out, thinking that the tailor was somekind of psychic reading his mind.

The tailor gave a low chuckle again, while taking a fabric from his assistant and wrapping it around Rei. "About your clothing, well… you're mother was wondering if I would sew a traditional Chinese gown for you," He gave a dry smile when he saw Rei paled slightly. "But in the end I managed to convince her that you wearing a gown wouldn't make a good combination. Your husband and the rest would be mesmerized at you, but you wouldn't feel comfortable with what you're wearing."

Rei sighed with relief when he found out that he wasn't going to wear any dress. "What am I going to wear then?" he asked.

"Since you're going to wear them very soon, I might as well tell you anyway. You're going to wear a combination of a traditional Chinese dress and a traditional Chinese warrior suit. I haven't really exactly made the details yet, so right now I'm only going to see what colour of the fabric would be good for you." The tailor explained, while unwrapping the fabric he wrapped around earlier and replacing it with yet another fabric though the colour was different. It was a white material with silver and blue embroidery [1]. When Rei had seen the cloth, he loved it already.

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**Crystal:** There! Now you all know what Rei's going to wear for the wedding --coughMoon Bindcough--

**[1]** – I hope you didn't mind if I used the colour that you suggested, EternalElement… --laughs nervously--

I hope that satisfied you readers! I'll be updating my other fics very soon too so just be patient. Oh, and just to let you guys all know, I have a new TxB fic coming up, so I hope you guys check it out! This is Crystal saying, Ja ne and see you all soon!


	18. Rehearsals, survival of the fittest Part...

**Crystal:** Konbanwa/Konnichiwa minna-san! Gomen nasai for not updating sooner… but as seeing that my school is going to start soon, umm… I just sort of having my stress back… -.-;

**Tala:** --snorts-- Hah, stop making excuses, will you? You're obviously too lazy…

**Crystal:** ¬.¬ Shut it.

_Thanks to:_ Bluumberry, Shadow Tigress a.k.a Kit, Keisan, Vampyre Neko, Platinum Rei, Ladyfiction, Devlinn Reiko-sama, Tariki Rania, Forfirith-on-a-sugar-high, Moon Bind, Wolf whirl, SoulSister, Dead yet a love sick puppy, Koneko no Rei, La perfectionieste?, Crazy nek0-JIN, Adi, Phoenix905, Winged Wolves, TNTiggris, Raku Ozzarian Princess, Neko Phoenix Girl, Hyper breeze from the east, Songs make my cry, Renanimeangel, Lady AA-chan, Devilburns, Prozacfairy, EternalElement, Kai-cutie-angel, Griff234, SorrowWolf, Emiz, and Harry James Potter5!

**Crystal:** Thankies soooooooooooooooooooooooo much for the reviews you guys! =D Though, I'm really sorry for the no response thing… it seems that my procrastination won't let me do it… even though he did allow me to update Breathe… but he forced me not to write responses for you guys… T-T Anyway, as lovely reviews _and_ readers, let me present to you kawaii plushies of the Beyblade characters in their chibi form! =) All of you guys can have the **WHOLE, ENTIRE SET** along with their accessories and such. =D

**Disclaimer:** T-T The only way you're EVER going to make me say that dreaded sentence is by gagging me with duck tape and tickling me non-stop with a feather. --sees a whole bunch of lawyers holding duck tape and feathers-- O.O Umm… --laughs nervously-- I-I'm only kidding you k-know… oh freak --runs away from a bunch of crazed lawyers while screaming bloody murder--

And now, enjoy the fic!

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**Breathe – Chapter 18: Rehearsals, survival of the fittest Part one**

It had been a very busy week when the tailor and designer had been here to take all the measurements for the gowns and robes. Yet, even though it was very busy, it had been a fast one as well. After that week, it was now the rehearsals. Meaning that there's only three weeks away until the big wedding day.

Rei sighed as he sat on the chair outside the balcony. His wedding attire will be here in a few days time, according to his mother. He can't really wait to see it; he knew that the person who's going to make the clothing article would be wonderful. After all, that was the same person who created his mother's wedding attire. While he was thinking about the clothes, he also can't stop thinking about the rehearsals. His parents and the rest of the adults have mentioned them that

He heard the door knock. "Come in," he replied, and saw Bryan, Max and Kenny come inside the room. "Hey guys." Rei stood up from the chair and came back inside the room, and sat himself in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace.

Max gave a great, big, cheerful smile, and sat himself on one of the armchairs that's left. "It's been a long time since only the four of us have been talking and hanging out like this, right?"

Kenny nodded with agreement and took as seat by the rug in front of the armchair with yet another book in his hands. "I agree with Max. It has been a long time." He invited Bryan over but the lavender-haired boy just leaned against the wall.

They talked for a while, until Bryan had mentioned something that he noticed. What did he noticed you asked? Well…remember what happened last week, with the awkwardness between Rei and Mariah, and not to mention Kai stabbing the surface of the table with a butter knife? Yeah that's the one he had noticed for a long time now. He only asked Rei right now because they were so busy for the last week. He only got to see Rei and the others during breakfast, lunch and dinner, then after that, him and Max would help their parents with all the preparations with the wedding rehearsals that are soon going to be held. He even hardly got to spend time with Tala!

Rei had been surprised when Bryan had asked him about what happened last week. He thought that they all have forgotten it, but it seems that they haven't. Again, like last week, the neko-jin also didn't want to tell them what happened between him, Mariah… and the REJECTION! He still felt guilty about it, even though it was a week ago that had happened. He knew that Bryan, Max, Kenny, and everybody else didn't like her, and he doesn't want to make her feel bad, despite the fact that she had been mean to his friends and fiancé.

Man… isn't Rei a nice, nice guy?

"Rei, you still haven't answered the question yet," Bryan said impatiently. "We exactly don't have all day you know."

The said neko-jin gave a small chuckle. "Okay, okay I'll tell you. Just… don't gloat right in front of Mariah ok? Despite the fact that she's been… umm… _bitchy_, and that she deserves the gloating… it would be low for us to do that." Rei saw Bryan and the others nod and then he took a deep breath. "Okay, remember when Mariah just dragged me out of nowhere when we were sitting by the tree?" He saw them nod and continued. "Well… she had gone too far, and insulted Kai… so, I kind of umm… yelled at her, and told her that I only love her as a cousin and nothing more."

The other three looked at Rei like he had grown a second head or something. He actually yelled at someone? They would never, ever, EVER think of Rei yelling at someone… he's just TOO… nice…

But they were wrong… so very wrong…

"Hello… everyone!" Four heads turned towards the doorway, and saw Dizzi coming inside with Kai, Tala, and a very hungry Tyson in tow.

Max tilted his head in curiosity and asked, "How did you know that we were here?"

Tala gave a very scary smirk and sat himself right on Bryan's feet lightly while leaning against his boyfriend's legs. "Why Tyson sniffed your scent of course!"

"Are you telling me that I smell bad?" Max gave a small glare towards Tala and then at Tyson, and then back at Tala again.

Tyson sweat dropped and put an arm around the blond. "No… Tala didn't say that… and just forget what he said. It's obviously that he was the one sniffing around."

Tala somehow got a pillow on his hands, and threw it really hard on Tyson's head, making Tyson fall back (he was sitting on the armrest of the chair) and made a really big bump on his head. Then the red head gave a victorious cheer and proceeded on leaning in Bryan's legs.

"Anyway, the reason we're here, is because the carriages are here and they're going to leave in umm… fifteen minutes?" Dizzi gave a nervous giggle and started to walk back to the door, while Kenny, Max and Tyson followed her.

Kai and Rei looked at Tala and Bryan, who looked back at the other couple.

"You go first," Tala started.

Rei shook his head. "No, Kai and I insist, right Kai?" He gave the kitty-eyes towards Kai's way, making the older boy nod furiously even though he didn't need the "eyes".

"But you're the couple who's going to get married! You have to go first!" Bryan said, making Tala nod furiously like what Kai was doing.

Kai stopped nod like his head was loose and gave them a slight glare. "It's OUR bedroom, Tala."

"Oh… I didn't know that this bedroom is mine and yours, Kai." Tala and Bryan stifled a laugh when Kai widen his eyes, and tried to lunge at the both of them, but Rei was holding the slate-haired boy back.

"Umm… Tala, Bryan I think you guys can go ahead, please?" Rei asked, while still trying to calm Kai down. Fortunately for him, the couple agreed and dashed out of the room, before Rei could let the really, really mad Kai go.

As Tala and Bryan ran out of the room, the both of them laughed their hearts out and made their way outside.

"You know… we should really do something about those two…" Tala crossed his arms over his chest while walking side by side with Bryan.

The lavender-haired boy snorted and linked his arm with Tala's. "They're too stubborn. Though, I'll have to admit, they managed to resist each other, even though they keep on flirting with each other, and stick their tongues on each other's throats."

Tala unfolded his arms and gave Bryan a curious glance. "What do you mean 'stick their tongues on each other's throats'? They never did that before… did they?"

Bryan gave a small, mischievous smirk and continued walking down the corridor, leaving Tala clueless, to what he said earlier. In the meantime, Tala sulked while his boyfriend left him right in the middle of the hall. He didn't even know what he was talking about! And what about Kai and Rei's tongues, sticking it in their throats? Won't they choke and die? Shaking his head in curiosity and confusion, Tala just ran after Bryan, who was half way down the grand staircase and out to where the carriages are waiting.

Poor, poor Tala, it seems that he got the INS (Innocent Naivety Syndrome) from Max and Rei…

When the red head had gone outside, he saw at least four carriages. One of the carriages is for Lord Rai, Lady Leila, Lord Hiwatari, and surprisingly Mariah. The second carriage was for the four advisors, and the other two are for themselves, though they would still have to work things out who gets to sit with whom during the trip. Tala saw two horses with Bryan's father, and Tyson's father riding on them, and also saw that there's only one more carriage left that, that's not occupied yet, and figured that, that's where him, Bryan and of course Kai and Rei would be sitting in. Just as he was about to climb in, somewhere in his mind click, and in an instant, a plan hatched into his mind.

Oh… this was going to be a very exciting trip…

At the same time as Tala and Bryan were walking down the corridor, and going inside the carriage, Rei was still too busy to calm Kai down. The neko-jin didn't know what to do! It's like Kai's on a PMS-ing spree or something. The slate-haired boy would just trample down everything in his way… even if the neko-jin would stand right in front of him, he would just knock over the poor boy… until that sentence became a reality. In the end, Rei had somehow walked in front of Kai, and the slate-haired boy didn't notice him, until they were both on the ground, with Kai on top of Rei… millilitres away from having another kiss… that is, until one of the servants had been sent to tell them that the carriage has been waiting for quite sometime now… but (there's always a but… ne?), when the servant had seen the engaged couple in a very compromising position, she flushed a bright shade of red, and stammered her sentences out.

Kai sensed Rei was also getting quite umm, embarrassed that a servant had caught them in this kind of position and stood up, helping Rei onto his feet after he had both of his feet on the ground. Then, as fast as their legs can run, they ran outside just in time to climb inside the carriage. Wow… it would be very odd that there wouldn't be a groom and a "bride" at the wedding if they were left behind, ne? In any case, while rushing inside the carriage, both Kai and Rei hadn't notice the two people sitting right in front of them… until one of them giggled anyway. Unfortunately for Rei, it was Tala and Bryan, and before we could forget, Kai's still mad at them from earlier.

Like Tala said… won't this be a very exciting trip?

In the meantime, in the other carriage where Tyson, Max, Kenny, and Dizzi were, subjects are being discussed on, and they are things needed to be finished. Also, like Tala said earlier, they should do something about Kai and Rei so they could help them get together right before the wedding so there'd be no clichés when the wedding's taking place.

"How about locking them in a room again?" Max suggested, while the Dizzi and Tyson were arguing about who has better ideas. Kenny on the other hand, was just watching them in amusement, though it was really getting annoying. It hasn't been an hour yet, and now the bickering has started.

Dizzi stopped shouting at Tyson for a moment, and turned her attention towards the blond. "But we keep on doing that," she whined. "It's getting old, despite the fact that it's been quite useful."

"I say we go to my plan!" Tyson said again, making him and Dizzi argue… yet again.

"Your idea stinks like crap, Tyson! There's no way Tala and Bryan would agree to that even if they were here! Let say we go with my plan!"

"Hah, as if you're plan doesn't stink as mine does!" That's when Tyson realized that not only he insulted Dizzi's idea; he also insulted his when he had said that. The bluenet slapped his forehead, when Dizzi started to snigger. "It's not THAT funny! Cut it out!"

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Four hours…

Four freaking hours since they all had left the castle and Rei was getting bored… extremely bored. He could talk with Bryan and Tala… only if they could stop exchanging saliva to one another, though he could also talk with Kai, but it seems that he's still pissed off at the other couple. So Rei had no other choice but to look outside the window of the carriage, where a few trees are passing by.

Meanwhile, at the same time as Rei was staring out the window, Tala and Bryan kept on making out right in front of the engaged couple. Well, they tried to make them look anyway. Rei was still staring out the window, and Kai's eyes were closed, like he was taking a nap or something. However, they probably have stopped trying and just make out for fun, after all… they haven't had paid any attention to each other for the last week.

While Rei was staring out the window, and Tala and Bryan were devouring each other's mouths, Kai on the other hand was irritated, no wait worse the irritated. He was ready to tear someone's innards apart, and sell them for jewellery. And surprisingly, the loud arguing noises coming the other carriage (where Tyson, Max, Kenny, and Dizzi are) aren't helping either. Despite the fact that they're in different carriages, and at least five metres away from each other, you could still hear Dizzi's voice and Tyson's voice argue like there's no tomorrow. And that's making Kai mad more.

"You know, you should really stop frowning," Ah, it seems that Tala and Bryan had FINALLY stopped making out. Kai just ignored Tala's remark, and scowled more.

Silence consumed them all, and while it was quiet in the carriage, you could practically hear Tyson and Dizzi's voice loud and clear.

"Shut up!"

"Why won't you shut up?!"

"'Cause I said it to you first!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Hah, see? I know you'd agree with me."

"Wha--? Tyson! That wasn't fair, you tricked me!"

Rei sweat dropped, and shook his head sadly. "Poor Max and Kenny, I wonder if their ears are bleeding right now… Tyson and Dizzi's argument have been going for three hours now, last time I checked anyway."

"Actually, it's four," Tala interjected.

Kai snorted, and finally opened his eyes. He gave a small smirk towards Tala's way, "Heh, you actually know that? I thought you're mind's too clouded when your too occupied with something." His smirked got wider when Tala's icy blue eyes glared at him, and tried to throw the small cushion that he was leaning in. "Don't throw that, unless you want something bad to happen."

Unfortunately, Tala didn't listen and threw the small cushion hard on Kai's head, making Kai even more pissed off and the slate-haired boy threw another cushion back at Tala who got hit in the nose. And thus my fellow people, they started with a great big pillow fight (cushions came out of nowhere), in which they accidentally hit Rei in the head, making the neko-jin's hair messy, the neko-jin angry, and the neko-jin join the fight; and also in which Bryan got hit in the eye and made it red like his eye has some kind of disease in it, and also joined.

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Six hours…

It has been now six freaking hours since they had all left the castle, and FINALLY after many hours of arguing, Dizzi and Tyson had finally stopped arguing. Instead, Tyson has fallen asleep while leaning on Max's head since the blond was also sleeping, and Dizzi's looking outside the window, where the trees are passing by.

"Are we there yet, Kenny?" she asked the brunet; while he looked up from the book he was reading.

"Hmm… from my calculations, probably half an hour more," Kenny replied, while going back to reading his book. "I suggest you get some sleep, Diz. After all, you had been arguing with Tyson for four hours straight."

Dizzi nodded in agreement, and nodded her head while yawning slightly. Then, she slowly put her head on Kenny's shoulder and fell into a short nap. What do you mean by a short nap? It seems like Kenny's calculations have been… umm, how should I say this… miscalculated? And so, Dizzi never really got that half an hour nap, since just before she could really dream about anything, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"We're here," the coach that was steering the horses.

Dizzi grumbled how unfair that she didn't even get to have at least half an hour nap, and got off the carriage while a still-reading Kenny, and a very sleepy Max and Tyson followed her. She saw---and very surprisingly I might add---to see that Kai was carrying a sleeping Rei when he had come out of the other carriage, followed by Tala and Bryan, who seemed to have gotten a decent sleep, preferably after that pillow fight (after her argument with Tyson, she looked out the window to see feathers, coming out of Kai's carriage, followed by Tala saying "DIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" very loudly). If she weren't so tired right now, she would have squealed there in delight on how cute Kai and Rei looked, but to her disappointment, she is, and she's really in need of sleep. Besides… the worst thing that could happen is that they would start rehearsing now… right?

"Well…since all of you looks so tired," Judy said, eyeing the sleeping Rei from Kai's arms to eyeing her son and Tyson yawning every ten seconds, giving them a sincere smile. "Lady Leila has told me to tell you all that the rehearsals would be starting tomorrow. So for now, you all get a good rest, alright?"

Everybody had whole-heartedly agreed and followed the servants who have come out to get their luggage to their rooms.

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**Crystal:** Well, here's the first instalment of Rehearsals: survival of the fittest! I was suppose to write it in a single chapter… but then I realized that the chapter was going to be too long and so I figured, why not put it in two or three instalments? And besides… if I did write it in a single chapter, then that would mean Breathe is going to be over in… what, three chapters? x.x So, again, I figured that I should add a few more chapters. I hope that doesn't bother you guys… --smiles nervously--

Review, onegai? --puppy dog eyes look--


	19. Rehearsals, survival of the fittest Part...

**Crystal:** Hello everyone! Once again… I'm so very sorry for not updating sooner. But… no matter… here I am, and with another chapter for you guys to read! --smiles--

_Thanks to:_ SaFire flamE, Prozacfairy, Devlinn Reiko-sama, Saber-kon, Tariki Rania, Vampyre Neko, Danya2, ChibiNekoSakura, Moon Bind, Hyper breeze from the east, Koneko no Rei, TNTiggris, Phoenixflame905, Devilburns, Forfirith-on-a-sugar-high, Shadow Tigress a.k.a Kit, Raku Ozzarian Princess, Kai-cutie-angel, Nothinglittlegirl, SnowIce, Winged Wolves, Yukio, Ladyfiction, White Spirit Angel, Duct Tape Kitten, Kat5, Shayde-chan, LordIronDuke126, Renanimeangel, Angel of pure darkness, SoulSister, Autumnburn, Mizurazame, Neko-jin -2004!

I was really surprised that I still get reviews even though I haven't been updating for a long time, but when I got them I was really inspired to continue on working on the chapter… so I figured that I'd dedicate this chapter to all of you readers and reviewers! Oh, and to answer your questions, Yukio, I will never, EVER abandon this story… EVER! I'm just really slow at updating and I'm hardly even on the computer at times now because of school… anyway, gomen ne for waiting so long --bows-- Oh, and one more thing… again, I've decided that I think this will be the last instalment of _Rehearsals, the survival of the fittest!_ Yes… I know I have a very disturbing and un-decisive mind… so yeah… Now, on with the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** … you all know the sentence already…

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**Breathe - Chapter 19: Rehearsals, the survival of the fittest Part two!**

Rei groaned at the sound of the door banging and a muffled "Rise and shine, my little pretties! Time for breakfast!" outside the door to their room. He sat up, and stretched like a cat, while yawning slightly; he then looked at his surrounding and noticed that he's in a room, which looks very similar to other room back at the other castle. He looked at his side to see Kai sleeping peacefully, and then he caressed the pale cheek with the back of his hand.

_He looks so peaceful…_ The neko-jin thought, as he was trying to get out of bed quietly so he couldn't wake the sleeping young man up.

Even though the sun has risen to do its daily task, the room is fairly dark since the heavy curtains haven't been open yet. But that didn't bother Rei at all, since his golden eyes can see just fine through the dark. He carefully placed the blanket on Kai's shoulder and gave a small kiss on the cheek, while going towards the vanity so he could brush his extremely long raven hair.

_Today's the day for the rehearsals… I wonder what're we going to do…_ He winced slightly when the brush that he was holding passed through a nasty knot. _Hopefully everything will go accordingly to plan… and I wonder if all the clothes are here…_ Rei put the brush down and changed into his usual Chinese attire. Since the dark was getting into him, he then pulled the heavy linen curtains to both sides, letting the sunshine come through the clear and transparent glass.

The neko-jin decided that he should wake up Kai, after all they're already late for breakfast as it is; and so, he walked back to the bed, where Kai's side is and gently shook the crimson-eyed man. "Kai," he whispered quietly, while he kept on shaking. "Kai, wake up."

But, what Rei didn't know, is that Kai was already awake before him. He had been just too lazy to get out of bed, and so when the neko-jin had woken up, Kai pretended to be asleep, while quietly watching Rei from the corner of his eyes. When he had notice that Rei was shaking him, Kai suddenly had an idea and gave a small, feral smirk. And with that, he suddenly grabbed Rei by the elbows and pinned him by the bed, with the slate-haired young man on top.

"Well… this wasn't really what I was expecting…" Rei mumbled, while light lines were slightly creasing on his forehead, turning it into a small frown, yet he could feel his cheeks heating up a bit. The neko-jin looked at Kai's mischievous crimson eyes and gave a small yet cute smile that would make the stoic one melt into a puddle of goo. "Good morning, Kai. Had a pleasant sleep?" Rei squeaked, making Kai's smirk widen a little.

Kai leaned a little bit forward, his smirk still in place and just a few millilitres away from the neko-jin's lips, "Indeed I had a very pleasant sleep," he said, satisfied to make Rei a little bit nervous.

"Umm, Kai… don't you think we should go downstairs for breakfast now?"

And just before Kai could respond or do something…

Their bedroom door just slammed open, and Tala stormed inside as if he's gotten into a fight with someone.

"There you both are! For the sake of humanity, breakfast has already--Oh, I didn't realize that you were busy." The red head started to smirk, while Kai rolled off the blushing Rei. The poor neko-jin… it looks like he's ready to faint.

Kai glared at Tala while Rei climbed out of the bed and started to smooth out his clothing. Then he gave a small greeting to Tala and a smile to Kai, heading out from the bedchambers. When the neko-jin was out of the earshot, Kai threw a pillow towards the red head, making Tala's head throb in pain.

"OWW! That hurt, Kai!" Tala winced, while rubbing his head, walking towards an armchair. "What were you two doing anyway? It looked like you were ready ravish him or something."

Kai grunted and walked around the huge flat board so he could change into his usual attire. "First of all, it WAS supposed to hurt, you idiot. Second, we're NOT doing anything!"

Since Kai was around the huge flat board, he didn't see Tala roll his eyes. "We're not doing anything, my foot…" he muttered, while still rubbing his defenceless head. "Anyway, I heard from my father that your relatives and Rei's relatives were already here, so in within the hour, we would start the rehearsals." He saw Kai come out of the huge flat board, watching his best friend put on the dark blue shark fins on his cheeks. "I've met some of Rei's other cousins. Surprisingly they're annoyed with the pink one as well, and it's even more surprising that one of them is obsessed with her."

The slate-haired young man gave a small smirk and his crimson eyes were giving a disbelieving look. "You're kidding me, right?" When he saw Tala's head shook, he gave a small, cold laugh. "He must be very idiotic to like her then."

"I don't think so. I talked to him; he looked and sounded pretty sane to me. Heck, even Bryan, Max, and Kenny talked to him too." Tala explained. "Anyway, enough talk about families and relatives. Let's talk about something else, shall we?" When he saw Kai's glance, Tala took it as a sign of 'Go ahead'. "Okay, if you say so. Anyway, I was wondering… have you confessed your undying love for Rei yet?"

Kai rolled his crimson eyes and slapped his forehead. "Great, I knew this was coming…" he sighed. "Why do you keep on asking, anyway?"

"Well… no reason… it's just, oh and this was quote by Dizzi, okay? Not me, her! Okay, under the quote of Dizzi: You guys are **perfect** for each other." Tala said, while going down the staircase. "Oh, and Kai? A little warning: beware of Rei's little cousins. They're probably going to interrogate you with questions." And with that, Tala dashed out of the castle and into the fields, where his father, and the rest of the advisors whom were instructing the servants where the seats or the big, vases with flowers would go.

Kai shook his head and also went downstairs, only he went to the Great Hall, where breakfast was being served. When he got there, what he saw was unimaginative. The very long table was full of people who were sitting there; he recognized some of them, being his relatives and all, and some people who he didn't know, and he presumed that they were Rei's relatives. He felt like he was in a big family reunion.

When he took a seat right beside Rei, a swarm of little kids came to him and looked at him with great big eyes. He gave them a half smile and started to get some breakfast. He took a few bites off his toast, when he noticed that the little kids were still staring at him with those great, big eyes. It was getting a little unnerving, really. I mean you would squirm too, if gigantic chibi eyes were staring at you, not blinking even for a half second even if you're a cold-hearted, emotionless, "I don't care about anyone" type of guy.

"Is something wrong?" he tried to make the tone of his to be a little less emotionless, since he might scare the little kids away.

Rei noticed how his little cousins were staring at his fiancé in a fixed gaze and sweat dropped a little. Then, he took one of them and placed his little cousin in his lap.

"Who's he…?" Rei's little cousin asked, while pointing at Kai, who was looking at her at the corner of his eye. Rei's other little cousins started jumping and nodding, saying, "Yeah, who's he? Who's he?", making Rei smile at them and even Kai form a half a smile.

"His name's Kai," replied Rei, while petting his little cousin's head, and also not noticing how Kai looks at him and how the crimson-eyed young man was impressed at how affectionate the neko-jin is towards little kids.

One of Rei's little cousins (the one on his lap), Amane, nodded her head, while still looking at Kai in an intense gaze. The little girl couldn't help but wonder, if the huge man in front of him would protect her big cousin Rei against all the bad guys after they get married. She got off from Rei's lap, and climbed onto Kai's, which made the said one surprised. "Are you Rei's fiancé?" she asked, still looking at Kai with those unblinking eyes…

Kai nodded, still halfway eating his bacon.

"You'll protect him, right? Right?" Amane asked again, making the other children say the same thing.

Again, Kai nodded his head, while watching the little girl get off his lap and went off to play with her other cousins. When he looked up, he saw Rei smiling at him and became confused yet happy that he made Rei smile. "What are you smiling about…?" he asked.

"Surprisingly you didn't scare all of my little cousins with that death glare of yours. But, then again… all of them are really courageous, so your death glares probably won't work," Rei answered, while letting a playful smirk out. He then took a drink of his orange juice and with full of manners; he wiped his mouth on a piece of cloth.

"You know… I'm suppose to be insulted, but for some reason, I'm not," Kai said, also letting a playful smirk come out.

Rei was about to say something… but again, like earlier, they were interrupted. But not by Tala this time, this time it was…

"Stop flirting, and get a move on, will you?"

…Bryan who interrupted them. Kai sighed, and stood up from his seat, taking his arm out so Rei could link his arm with him. He was pleased that Rei gladly took it, and with that both left the Great Hall, arm in arm. When they had come out of the castle, what they saw really took their breath away.

The green fields that were bare that you could see endless of green when they had first come here was now filled with a lot of chairs in rows both vertically and horizontally in two sets with a gap in between. In between, there's a long, velvety red carpet, which ran along down where the front is. Just as the long red carpet was about to end, there was a small stage that took a shape of a half of an octagon, and behind that was a big arch, wrapped in vines with white flowers. Two China vases were standing on both sides of where the arch is and they were full of peonies in bloom, and ribbons that hung like curtains on the arch.

Both Kai and Rei were fascinated at the sight. Never had the both of them see a marvellous work.

"You like it?" The engaged couple looked to their side, and saw Lady Leila standing right beside them also smiling softly at the sight in front of them. "You'll have to thank the advisors for such wonderful work. It almost feels like you looking at a painting, am I correct?" The two of them nodded, still speechless. They'll have to thank the advisors later. "Well the two of you better get a move on. We'll be starting the rehearsals in two minutes." With that, Lady Leila gave a peck on a cheek on her son and son-in-law to be and walked towards her husband, who was talking to one of Kai's relatives.

"Let's go, everybody will be wondering what happened to us," Kai murmured quietly, not wanting to disturb Rei since the crimson-eyed young man was seeing that his fianc's face was peaceful and serene.

Rei nodded, and let Kai lead him to where the others are.

"There you two are! I was wondering where you were," Dizzi exclaimed, while dragging Rei away from Kai. "Come on, Rei… we're starting the rehearsals… first up is the marching ceremony." While Dizzi was dragging Rei, the said neko-jin looked back, and gave an apologizing smile towards Kai, who was glaring at the back of Dizzi's head. Kai didn't even realize that he was also being steered at the stage by someone.

"What the hell…?"

"Stop swearing, would you?! There are little kids here, and you'll give them a bad influence!" It was Tyson that veered him towards the low-height stage. Kai rolled his eyes, and pulled his arm away from the blunet's clutches. He then saw that his and Rei's relatives were starting to sit on the chairs, except for the other people who standing up on the right side, waiting patiently (excluding the little kids who were running around in circles, or either crying out loud, or fighting).

When Kai saw a person coming towards the organ (he was curious at how the servants dragged a huge organ outside), he didn't even notice that Tala and Tyson had come by at his side.

"So, are you ready for your wedding, Mr. Hiwatari?"

The said latter snorted and crossed his arms. "Formalities aren't getting you anywhere, Ivanov." Kai was still a little bit annoyed that Tala had interrupted him and Rei earlier at the bedchambers, and it looks like the said redhead had recognized this.

"Look Kai, if this is about you, Rei and that position that I sa--"

"Eurghh… DON'T EVEN SAY IT, TALA! There are children here! Besides, I don't want know about Mr. Sourpuss's ermm… extracurricular activities with Rei!" Tyson scrunched up his nose like he was constipating, while putting both his hands on his ears. "LALALALALA… I'M NOT HEARING ANYTHING!!!!" Unfortunately for the boy, almost everybody had heard him, and now they're all looking at the bluenet like he was some kind of deranged slave that had just gotten out of the dungeons.

Kai rolled his eyes and smacked Tyson right on the back of the head. "You're an idiot, did you know that, Kinomiya?! I'm going to tell this once… and I'm going to tell it again. REI… AND… I… AREN'T… DOING… ANYTHING!" Kai hissed, while Tala was trying to distract the audience in front of them.

"Uhh… he he… nothing to see here, people! Err… just watch the people march right up front, okay?" the redhead said, while sending a deep dark glare towards the other two. "Unless you want my father and the rest of the advisors on your heels--don't roll your eyes, Kai; believe me, they WILL kill you right on the spot--I suggest you two will NOT mess the rehearsals up! Despite the fact that the advisors were very tired, they still did this, EVEN at the crack of dawn!"

In the meantime, where Rei and the others were, things were perfectly in order and they were right on task. Everything was in place, and the people that were supposed to walk right down the middle were wholly in line and in order.

Rei was anxiously glancing from left to right, looking at the people that were lining up with him. _Oh when is this going to start?_ He thought, while fidgeting his thumbs. He was so anxious that he didn't even notice someone walk towards him, until said person had tapped him on the shoulder.

"Umm… Rei?"

The neko-jin turned around and saw that Mariah had tapped him on the shoulder. He gave his cousin a half smile and said, "Yes, Mariah?" He watched as his pink-haired cousin bit her lip nervously, trying to say something.

"Umm… can we talk somewhere else that's quiet?" she asked quietly, as if she doesn't want anyone hearing their small conversation, making Rei kind of suspicious. The raven-haired young man reluctantly agreed, and led her away from the crowd, and into the riverside, where only the rushing sound of the water is present.

Silence had consumed the both of them, not knowing who should start the conversation. Too many bad experiences have had happened these past few weeks that both cousins don't know how their conversation should start. Rei was just staring right ahead of him, while Mariah was just looking down.

"So… what are going to talk about?" Rei finally asked, since the silence was getting to him, and if they had stayed away from the crowd too long, they would all probably wonder where did the "bride" and the bridesmaid went.

"Well… I just want to say… I'm sorry," Mariah said quietly, while rubbing her left arm as if it was comforting to her. "I'm sorry that I tried stealing you away from Kai, I'm sorry that I keep on insulting him and your friends in front of you, and I'm sorry for not supporting you at your decision."

Rei looked at his cousin, stunned. He never really expected Mariah to apologize like that, and when he had heard those two words, Rei gave Mariah a smile and a one-armed hug. "Apologies accepted. But you shouldn't really apologize to me; you should apologize to the others. Now, lets go back to the rehearsals, okay?" With that Rei led Mariah back to crowd, where he received a big, long lecture from Dizzi about vanishing into thin air, and about worrying people to death (wow… it seems that it's Dizzi's time of the month…)

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When the organ had started playing it's melodious tune, it was then Kai realized that the rehearsals had FINALLY started (he had been waiting for at least half an hour already). He watched a few children walking down the aisle, while the advisors were guiding them to where they were suppose to sit. He saw Max, Bryan, Kenny and Dizzi walking down the aisle already, and also to his distaste, his fianc's cousin as well. And finally, after waiting for a long time, Kai saw Rei walking down the aisle with Rei's parents.

Even though it was only the rehearsal, Kai was astounded at how Rei looked. The neko-jin's tanned complexion was blending perfectly with the morning/high noon sunlight, while the honey-coloured eyes shined with brightness, the emotions happiness, glee, timid, and love (?) was reflecting through. And how could Kai forget the kitten's smile? It is was as if this was Rei's happiest day of his life (it was probably the happiest day of his life), that the smile would light every dark corridor, while bringing a smile to everyone's face.

When Rei and Rei's parents had come to the front, Kai gave them a small bow, then gave Lady Leila a peck on the cheek, and Lord Rai a small handshake. After that, Lord Rai had given Rei's hand towards the crimson-eyed young man, and sat with his wife at the very front row on the left side.

Everything was going great according to their schedule, and everyone was doing their part perfectly, well except for Tyson that is. Every time he walks by, he trips and falls over, sometimes bumping to someone, making the person fall over and which made another fall over, and another, and another, and so on and so forth… like dominos falling on one another!

Anyway, as the sun was still above their heads, they were almost done with the whole ceremony, except for where the groom kisses the "bride" after the priest/minister said, "Now you may kiss the bride". Suddenly, Tala had this crazy idea about that certain part.

"Err… Miss Judy," he said to the female advisor while raising his hand up.

"Yes, Tala?" Judy asked, while looking towards his way.

Tala gave a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if he was trying to think up of something that he could say. "Well… I was wondering… if this is a rehearsal and all… shouldn't Kai and Rei also practice the kissing scene so that they won't mess up?" His icy blue eyes gave a mischievous look towards the glaring Kai and the slightly blushing Rei.

Judy turned her head towards the advisors, asking their opinion if they should agree with Tala's suggestion. With a few words and nods exchanged to one another, the female advisor turned her head towards Tala and gave a small smile. "On behalf of the rest of the advisors and I, your suggestion is agreed upon on, Tala."

The red headed youth nodded, trying to pretend to be all business like. Then, he gave a small grin towards Dizzi, who in turn put her two thumbs up as if she was trying to say that Tala did a good job (which he probably did). Tala looked at Kai and Rei, implying that they should do what the advisors and he had discussed on.

Kai was going to kill Tala any second now. He can't BELIEVE that Tala would suggest that! _But then again… this IS Tala we're talking about…_ he thought, while taking both Rei's arms with his hands, and without any warning, the slate-haired youth put his lips against the neko-jin in a kiss. At first it was kind of awkward, since there were people there staring at them while in lip-lock, but soon the awkwardness vanished and soon, both of them were unaware that there were people right in front of them… until they were interrupted once again.

Someone cleared their throat, and Kai reluctantly took his lips away from Rei and glared at the said someone, who just meekly smiled and told them that they have been kissing for five minutes and that the people had gone back inside the castle for the continuation of the rehearsals.

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"So when exactly are we going to eat?" It was Tyson had asked that question, when Kai and Rei had entered the Great Hall.

From before the rehearsals had even started, it seems like the servants worked on the arrangements of the tables and chairs for the reception while everybody was outside. The great long table had been move to the side, while medium-sized tables were in place in the centre with chairs to match. Silver cutlery, and china plates were placed neatly on the table with goblets place right on the left-hand corner of the plates. And right up front was a long table (not as long as the first table that was mentioned) where the soon-to-be married couple are going to be seated.

Sir Ivanov sighed as he led Kai and Rei towards the head table. "We're not going to eat, Tyson. We're just going put the people on their arranged seats for the wedding," he said, not noticing the bluenet widen his eyes, though he did certainly heard him.

"WHAT?! We're not going to eat?! But I'm starving! I'm going to die of hunger as we know it!" He sobbed on the table, while Max was patting his back and saying soothing words to his ears.

While Tyson was busily sobbing his heart out over nothing… Sir Ivanov explained to Kai and Rei about the arrangements. The head table is where Kai, Rei and their parents/grandparent are going to be seated, while the advisors are at one of the round tables near the head table, and also one for Kai and Rei's friends. The rest of the round tables are for Kai and Rei's relatives, in which the advisors are still working on.

"When are we going to eat?"

"Not yet, Tyson."

"How about now?"

"No…"

"Now?"

"Oh for the love of Pete, _WE'RE NOT GOING TO EAT YET!_"

"So, who's Pete exactly?"

"… You know what? Never mind."

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**Crystal:** Hope you guys liked! I really have nothing to say right now… so I'll leave it here. Ja ne minna-san! Review, onegai?


	20. Slight Complications

**Tala:** Err… Crystal's not available right now due to fatigue and the fact that she just came back from camping… so being a nice cousin that I am, I volunteered to do this… -points at Crystal sleeping soundly- Isn't that adorable? Now… if only she's quiet like that too when she's awake -coughs- Anyway so, I'm here to tell you that she's really, really, _REALLY_ sorry for the very long wait… and umm, let's just pretend that she's on her knees begging for mercy, okay? Okay.

_Thanks to:_ Kiko cat, Devlinn Reiko-sama, Renanimeangel, Lady Snowblossom, Adorable Death Angel Shayde, ChibiNekoSakura, LaDyFiCtIoN, phoenixflame (insert underscore) 905, Dragon-girl 02, SnowIce, Keisan, Da-Ku Hisaki, Saber Kon, Hyper breeze from the east, Koneko no Rei, Tariki Rania, Danya2, saFire flamE, Forfirith The dark angel, Mizurazame, Kissybear, Tntiggris, Kai-cutie-angel, Moon Bind, ChineseKawaiiKitten, Shadow Tigress a.k.a Kit, Magic and Sparkle, Wolf whirl, Hatsumi Narita, Mandy-pants, Lei-chi Kon, Natasha, Lone Wolf a.k.a Loner, EternalElement, DragonFlies, Rei (insert underscore) Kai, Shirohikari, Chinese Fairy, SoulSister, Devilburns, Luana Hime, Tsunami, Hellfire Phoenix, ..., Fluffys-sidekick, Blood Tears Dying Angel 0previously magic and sparkle0, (insert squiggly line)Oceana(insert squiggly line) Princess of Pain, Omili, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, Probladergirl, White(insert underscore)tiger(insert underscore)kitten, Macey Muse, Yoko-obssessor, Mimay, Neko-jin-orange, Wingedsoldier, Avampiresdilemma, Starvingartist24601, Sophy, Sandra, Kitsune, and Aacura for reviewing the previous chapter!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, too broke to own anything…

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****Breathe - Chapter 20: Slight Complications**

Rei woke up from the sound of the birds chirp chirping their hearts out. He blinked slowly, trying to adjust his eyesight and sat up, stretching like a cat. The neko-jin felt like he was forgetting something, but he couldn't figure out what it is. He shook his head and gave a small smile. No matter… he'll just ask Dizzi or Kenny what day it is today. Poor, poor Rei… I can't believe he would forget his wedding day… wow; that rhymed!

He turned his head to the right and saw that Kai was already out and about. Hmm, how odd… he should've been woken up when Kai had gotten off the bed because of the lack of warmth from his side, AND that the mattress of the furniture would've at least moved when his crimson-eyed fiancé left the bed. Unbeknownst to our little kitten, Kai was just sitting one of the armchairs near the fireplace, waiting for him to wake up.

"So, you're finally awake," Kai said, making Rei a bit startled.

Rei turned at the source of the voice and smiled. "Good Morning, Kai!" he said sleepily, while getting off the bed.

Kai stood up from the armchair and walked towards the still tired Rei, who was rubbing his eyes. He then leaned over and gave a small peck on the younger man's cheek. "You've been asleep for an hour after I woke, at first I thought you were dead," he said, while giving a smirk. Both had agreed during the rehearsals and for the rest of the week before they get married, that they should start acting like a real married couple and start hugging and kissing in public. At first, Rei was very timid at the idea - still is - while Kai was very smug about it… hmm… interesting. Since then and throughout the week, they have been holding hands, giving kisses on the cheek, and stuff like in front of everyone.

The said neko-jin blushed slightly at Kai's semi-affectionate gesture, but pouted right after the older one of the two had said the slightly teasing remark. "You're so mean! Just because you woke up earlier than me… hmph," Rei looked away from Kai's gaze while crossing his arms over his chest and continued on pouting. Both didn't even realized that someone had been knocking on the door for the past five minutes, until the door was almost literally smashed to pieces because of the incessant knocking.

"OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I'VE BEEN KNOCKING FOR FREAKIN' FIVE MINUTES AND NOBODY - " Tyson yelled while barging into the room, with veins popping out of his forehead indicating that he was annoyed; but was stopped at his ranting when he saw the couple - one who was still pouting and the other who is now annoyed that the bedroom door almost broke - already awake. "Oh, so you're awake then…" Tyson said, his tone quietening bit. "Well… uhh… they just err… wanted to let you know that you should start getting ready for this big, HUMONGOUS day… Heheh…" With that, the advisor's son ran away as fast as he could before Kai could throw a vase at him.

Rei had stopped his pouting and looked at the doorway curiously. "What did he mean by that?" he had asked no one in particular. He then noticed the servants outside (the door was very much open) running here and there, looking all frantic while either holding big boxes or muttering nonsense like "Must not collapse from pressure…" or "Don't let it fall, don't let it fall… Damn it! I let it fall!" He gave a confused look and shook his head; he then finally realized that all servants were a bunch of weirdoes.

"Hello, my dear friends!" Both Kai and Rei looked towards the doorway again to see Dizzi smiling a sugary, almost too evil smile that made Rei hide behind Kai. "You two should've been up a long time ago, you know." Dizzi strolled into the room, making Kai took a step behind, which also made Rei take a step back. Even though Kai is very anti-social and whatnot on the outside, this so-called childhood friend of his is starting to… well, scare isn't really the right word. More like intimidated… but hey, as long as nobody finds out, right? Right. And besides… if Dizzi is slowly losing her sanity, he has to protect his beloved - err… you didn't read that. Even though they've come to a mutual understanding of the infamous PDA (Public Displays of Affection), he was still a bit touchy over the pet names.

Dizzi on the other hand, was very ecstatic. It was finally the day of her two precious friends' wedding, and she can't help it if she's being emotional! Just before she came into the room, she'd been crying her eyes out and mumbling jumbled words to her boyfriend, while Kenny was just awkwardly patting her back, saying that it would be okay and the wedding would be a total success. She had no reason to disagree, after all her father and the rest of the advisors made sure that this wedding would be the greatest wedding of all, and if somebody messed it up… there would be a whole lot of hell to pay, lots of it. She took the initiative step again, still smiling. "Kai, please tell your adorable soon-to-be _wife_ to stop hiding like a mouse. If I didn't bite him when we first met, I'm as sure as hell wouldn't bite him now," she replied, while her eyes have a pure amused look in them.

Kai smirked, and took a step to the right, revealing an embarrassed Rei with red patches across his cheeks. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm here to collect our dear Rei here so he could get ready," the girl replied, making Rei give her the look of confusion.

"Get ready for what? I'm really confused here… first Tyson was here telling us to start getting ready, and now you come in telling us - me that I should get ready…" Rei trailed off, while scrunching up his face into an adorable sulk - or a pout if you prefer.

Dizzi gave a small squeal and tears almost started pouring down her cheeks. "Oh I can't believe this is the day! We've only known you for a while, and now it's time for you to tie the bonds that you have with my childhood friend! Take care of him, okay? He needs all the attention that he gets, and make sure that he doesn't kill any of the servants, because I'm pretty sure that you don't want the smell of blood around you, much less your castle…" she rambled on and on while crushing Rei into a very tight hug.

Kai sighed exasperatingly and tried to pry the crying maiden away from his suffocating fiancé. Wow… Dizzi can really be so emotional, he's really glad that it only happens once in a blue moon. Wait; is there even a blue moon? He shook his head from the stupid question that appeared his head, and gave a handkerchief to Dizzi, who gladly accepted it and used it to dab her eyes.

"Sorry about my emotional outburst… you know that it only happens once in a blue moon," Wow… what a strange sense of déjà vu here. "But enough about that, come on soon-to-be _bride_! Time for you to change and look your very best for the soon-to-be _groom_ here, and you can't see each other until it's time! Ta-ta!" With that, Dizzi dragged the neko-jin, leaving Kai to ponder what that the young girl had said.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!"

* * *

"Umm… so where exactly are we going?" Rei asked, while still being dragged by Dizzi. They have been walking for five minutes now, going right to enter another corridor, and turning left to another corridor, and sometimes they would meet a dead end, and Dizzi would just laugh half-heartedly at the sight and then drag him somewhere else; in other words, Rei was really getting a massive head ache with all the walking and turning.

Dizzi ignored him and kept on dragging the neko-jin, while looking for a certain room. Lady Leila and one of the advisors, Miss Judy had asked her to get Rei from his and Kai's bedroom so he could start getting ready for the wedding. And from the looks of it, a lot of things are in need to be done for the young man. First they have to put up his hair and then put his wedding attire on, AND also interrogate - err… I mean, _ask_ him if he memorized his wedding vow, and that he could say it like it was etched on his mind since the day he was born!

_Ooh, where is it!_ She thought frantically, as she turned into another corner and almost bumped into one of the servants. "Oops, sorry!" Dizzi called out, from behind her shoulder. _I swear it's in this corridor… but where! Darn it… Lady Leila and Miss Judy are going to kill me! No wait… first bury me alive, THEN kill me!_

"Oy! Dizzi!" The platinum blonde-haired girl turned around and saw Tala walking towards her and Rei. "Lady Leila's been looking all over for you!"

"Oh… uhh… Tala… you know where the room where Rei is supposed to get ready, yes?" Dizzi looked at the red-haired boy with hope shining through her eyes. Tala HAS to know! After all… he was there when the Lady had asked for her son, right? …Right?

Tala smirked inwardly as he watched the only female in the corridor panic silently. It was so much fun getting her riled up like that! Truth to be told, he didn't meet the Lady of the Southern Lands at all, and was just bluffing to see if Dizzi would break down and start crying all over again. "Ehh, not really… why?" he asked nonchalantly.

"DAMN IT! WHERE THE HELL IS THAT STUPID ROOM! I'M PRETTY FREAKING SURE THAT IT'S SOMEWHERE IN THIS STUPID CORRIDOR! GRR…" she kept on ranting on and on, leaving Tala laughing his head off in his mind, and Rei confused as ever.

"What room?" the raven-haired boy asked, still oblivious to what day it is. Hmm… it's interesting how Rei could forget such an eventful day as this, ne? Maybe it was something he dreamt last night? Bah, how should I know? I'm only the author… unfortunately, I'm not that mean to manipulate what my characters' dreams… or am I? Oops… getting sidetracked there… - cough - carry on.

"Ne, Rei… you're getting married today, remember?" Tala told him, still looking amused as Dizzi kept on muttering under her breath about total nonsense.

Rei closed his eyes and pondered for a moment… oh yeah! This is the day that he… was GOING TO GET MARRIED! "I'M GOING TO GET MARRIED TODAY!" he suddenly yelled, making Dizzi stop brooding and Tala stare at him.

"Huh?" Both said in unison.

The neko-jin clamped his mouth with his two hands and blushed lightly. Okay… so that was a bit loud, but he - Kon, Rei - didn't care! He was going to get married today! He's going to be with the guy he had first hated and now loved and going to live in a great big castle where it's always peaceful and relaxing and - Rei stopped at his train of thought and frowned slightly. If he loved Kai… then, wouldn't that be an unrequited love? After all, he doesn't know what the crimson-eyed youth is thinking… and he's pretty sure that Kai didn't harbour any feelings for him… Poor, poor naïve Rei… doesn't he realize how he makes Kai feel all tingly inside and how the slate-haired young man wanted to jump him randomly - so many times he's tempted, I might add - in a corridor and ravish him so badly that he'll never bend or walk or even freaking sit for ten years!

Tala and Dizzi looked at the now frowning Rei and got a bit worried. A few minutes ago, the happiness shining through the raven-haired young man's honey coloured eyes when he finally figured out that today was his wedding day dispersed suddenly… and instead, a feeling of sorrow replaced the happiness in his eyes.

"Rei… are you okay?" Dizzi asked softly, making Rei come back from his thoughts.

The neko-jin shook his head and gave a fake, cheerful smile. "Yeah, I'm fine! Now, come on… I'm pretty sure that Mother's going hysteric since we're not there yet," he said, while dragging Dizzi.

Dizzi and Tala looked at each other. Both saw through the fake, cheerful smile and thought the same thing. _Something's wrong… yup, definitely wrong._

* * *

Kai was pissed off; in fact, he's BEYOND pissed off. Why? Well… he was having such a sweet moment with his Rei - err… did he just say that Rei was his? Oh well, he's going to be his soon… anyway, he was having such a sweet moment with him, but no… stupid Dizzi and her stupid once-in-a-blue-moon emotional nonsense dragged his fiancé off somewhere before he could even ravish him! Grr… so yes, now the heir to the Hiwatari throne was ready to impale the next person who comes into his room…

And that person just happened to be a bystander aka a servant, who was know stuttering and probably pissing their pants off because of the glare that the Hiwatari was giving them.

"Uh… M-Master K-Kai… you're needed in the s-study r-room…" the servant had stuttered before they had fallen off in a faint. Wow… if I didn't know any better, I'd say if Kai had that permanent look, the whole servant population in this castle and possibly the whole kingdom would've dropped dead.

Kai gave an ignorant snort, and left the poor defenceless servant lying on the floor, hoping for his pet Dranzer to poke the servant's eyes out. Do I feel sorry for the next person who comes across Kai's path or what? Okay… so maybe I was lying…

"Are you really that pissed off?" Kai didn't turn around. _Oh great… now what?_ He thought, while still walking - more like stomping like a three-year-old kid with a tantrum - through the corridors.

Bryan raised his left eyebrow and shook his head. He was sent by Lord Rai and Lord Hiwatari to tell the servant (the one who had fainted) that he should be the one to fetch Kai instead, but… I guess he got there a bit too late… or either that he was being sadistic today and just wants to see the servant fainting so he could be amused, either way…

"Your grandfather and Rei's father wanted me to tell you that you should be getting ready," Bryan tried again, while hearing Kai mutter, "No shit…" under his breath.

Right now… what Kai really wants - and really hates to admit it - is to talk how frustrating it is to someone interrupting his and Rei's 'alone time'. But of course… he can't due to even though that he's friends with Bryan, the lilac-haired young man treats Rei like his little brother and if Kai talks about Rei in a… non-innocent way, he's bound to get pummelled by an overprotective Bryan… not that he would care, after all the almighty Hiwatari Kai can kick ANYONE'S ass at any time, yep…

Poor, poor Kai… How come he feels that something's about to happen, asides from his and Rei's wedding?

* * *

"**_AAAAHHHHHH! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT HERE YET?_**" Echoed through the whole courtyard outside the castle.

Kenny stood in right in front of two villagers, looking aghast and in panic with his jaw almost touching the ground and eyes as wide as saucers (if we can see it anyway). His father had told him that he was in charge of guiding the people who were bringing the wedding clothes inside the castle when he had come in. But the carriages were supposed to have come three hours ago, and he had asked the two villagers to see if there are any carriages that have passed by during those three hours, but to no avail none had come.

"We're really sorry, sir," Both of the villagers bowed down at the frantic brunet. "We'll check again if any have come if you want."

Kenny took a deep breath and massaged the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine coming. "No, it's alright. You two are dismissed."

The two villagers stood up and left the castle premises, leaving Kenny muttering under his breath about injustice. The brunet didn't even realize that someone was coming towards him.

"What's going on?" Kenny turned around to see Max walking towards him. He ran towards the blonde and started to shake him senseless.

"WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT'S GOING ON! THE WEDDING CLOTHES AREN'T HERE YET! THIS IS BAD… WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" Kenny wailed, while finally stopped shaking Max who has two swirls replacing his blue eyes.

Max, who still has the two swirls in his eyes, shook his head in amusement at his childhood friend's antics. Of course they're not going to die… the Apocalypse hasn't come yet… neither has the Armageddon… so what's to worry about? "Kenny… you're overreacting! I don't think we'll drop dead just because the wedding clothes aren't here yet!" He gave a vibrant smile, which would probably shine throughout the whole kingdom and into cruel people's dark and tainted hearts…

Kenny stopped wailing and looked at Max as if the other has just grown another head. He was staring at Max so much that he didn't notice that his left eye was twitching madly. How can Max not worry? His silence proved Max that he agreed with the blonde and with that, Max dragged Kenny back into the castle, not even realizing that the brunet is on a brink of a nervous breakdown…

When Kenny gets his hands on those people who were supposed to bring the wedding clothes… all hell would break loose; he would make sure of that. And he doesn't care if he gets thrown in the dungeon for that either.

_We'll see… I'LL GET YOU, YOU TARDY PEOPLE! MUAHAHAHAHAHA…_

…He really needs to lay off on the coffee…

Meanwhile…

Miles away from the castle, a certain person driving a carriage and two people inside the carriage sneezed at the same time. Hmm… someone's been talking about them…

* * *

Rei nervously watched the three ladies that were in front of him carefully. Finally, after one and a half hours of searching for the room that Rei needs to go to get ready, him, Tala and Dizzi have finally found the room and suffice to say… it was creeping the neko-jin out. When he had come inside the room, his mother squealed and dragged him inside, while forcefully pushed him down on a cushioned stool, smiling from ear to ear. For as long as he lived, Rei had never seen his mother smile like that.

Tala nor Dizzi was of no help either. Right when Lady Leila had dragged Rei in, the red head gave a salutation towards the neko-jin and ran as fast as he can away from the room. Dizzi on the other hand, gave an evil grin and closed the door, and Rei was pretty sure that the girl had locked and barricaded the door. To Rei… it felt like he was prisoner down into the dungeons, ready to be tortured with a… table fork.

"Umm…" he started, but Miss Judy raised her hand up, telling him to stop speaking.

"Now, now Rei… just relax on your seat and I promise that it isn't going to hurt… much," Miss Judy said, while Lady Leila and Dizzi smiled cheerfully… _too_ cheerfully.

Rei took a big gulp and closed his eyes, fearing of what the three females are going to do to him…

_Why me?_ Was his last train of thought…

Meanwhile, let's get to our dear, dear Kai, ne? Well… it's not really looking very well for him… err, actually not on the people that are trying to get him ready. They would either shake in fear, or just have a mental spasm because of the 'Touch me and you die painfully' glare that the crimson-eyed youth was giving them. Suffice to say… Kai wasn't really helping. At all. And so… with after many minutes that have been wasted, Lord Hiwatari sent Dizzi to help the groom.

"Wow, Kai… you really gave the servants a fright…" Dizzi whistled low, as she watched the servant rushed pass by her when she had entered the room. She sighed and shook her head a bit. "Well… let's get ready then, Mr Groom… Your soon-to-be-_wife_ is half-way done and you haven't even started yet!"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Half-way done? Didn't he start way ahead of me?"

The young girl nodded and crossed her arms. "Well, yeah… but the strangely, the clothes aren't even here yet…" She then suddenly frowned. "It wouldn't be pretty if Father hears about this, I feel sorry for the people who were responsible for bringing the garments." After that statement, she clapped her hands and closed the door with her foot. "Let's get started shall we?"

All Kai did was glare at his childhood friend. _Damn, she didn't forget…_

* * *

As surprised as he can be, Rei looked at the reflection that was staring back at him. Wow… he looked so… different. As side from his normal attire (the robes aren't here yet), his hair was out of question, the most breathtaking thing that you ever have seen. Instead of his traditional hair wrap and bandana, his hair was braided down to the very tip with a ribbon intertwining his hair (it seems that even though Lady Leila had - reluctantly - agreed that Rei would not wear a gown, she insisted that he should at least have his hair a _bit_ feminine… which was a bit of an understatement…). His bangs were framing his delicate face, making him more innocent than ever.

_Wow… Mother and the others really did a good job…_ Rei thought, while his back was in front of the mirror, looking at his hair. He was really glad that they were finished for now, he never realized that getting ready for this occasion took two and half hours long. But then again… it _was_ a wedding ceremony… and he's the one getting married, after all.

Rei smiled at his reflection then went to sit at one of the armchairs by the window. He sighed in relaxation and closed his eyes. Finally he can lean back, and just sit there… his back was really killing him, especially when Dizzi specifically told him not to slouch, or else she'll do something he'll regret later on. The neko-jin shuddered at the violet-eyed girl's words. He didn't know what was worse… being pampered like he was a lady, or doing something that he doesn't have a clue on what it was.

"I wonder where Kai is now," he murmured, while subconsciously twirling his loose hair. "Haven't seen him since this morning…" He sighed again and looked outside the window. He could clearly see white wooden chairs placed in neat identical rows with a red carpet in the middle.

He slowly smiled, thinking of the time that he and his husband-to-be used to hate each other's guts. It was a very immature sight indeed. The both of them had been through so much… to him, it had been worth it, no matter how selfish may it seem especially since he gets to spend the rest of his life with the one he cherish the most.

But…

Rei's honey-coloured eyes saddened at the thought. What if, what if Kai didn't want to marry him? What if he's only marrying him because for the sake of the Hiwatari kingdom?

_Rei, you stupid idiot…_ He thought, scolding himself. _That was the intention in the first place… The only reason that you're going to get married is so that you can strengthen the Kon kingdom… you just fell in love along the way…_ He leaned his head against the cool glass of the panel. _And besides… I'm sure that, that's also Kai's reason, right?_ He suddenly stood up and gave a small smile.

"I shouldn't be thinking like this…" He muttered, while shaking his head. "Maybe a little bit of a walk and fresh air would help." Rei stood up from the armchair, and headed outside, carefully not bumping into anyone, especially like Kai or Dizzi… or worse, his mother, who's at a brink of an emotional breakdown.

* * *

Bryan grumbled as he went up the stairs to give Rei his lunch. Why was he the one supposed to give the lunch, anyway? I mean, sure… he wants his childhood friend to eat a healthy meal, but he doesn't want to give it to him! Why can't a servant give the meal to the neko-jin instead?

He gave a sigh and knocked on the door, while impatiently clutching the tray with only one of his arms. _Damn it, Kon! Answer the stupid door!_ He snarled inwardly, feeling his left arm (the one holding the tray) going numb. After waiting for eight minutes, he couldn't take it anymore, and so a very irritated and pissed off Bryan barged into the room to find it empty.

_What the - ?_

The lilac-haired youth started at the empty room in front of him. Shouldn't Rei be here? Or was he in the wrong room? He entered the room further, carefully putting the tray down by the polished wooden table. He noticed the full sized mirror along with countless of brushes and combs lying by another table. Not mention a box full of ribbons with different sizes and colours.

_Boy, am I glad that I'm not the one getting married…_ Bryan thought while subconsciously shuddering at the thought of having ribbons in your hair. "Rei? Are you in here?" he asked while looking outside the balcony to see if the raven-haired was there, but to no avail, he wasn't there. Bryan was about to go and look for him outside the room when he saw his boyfriend by the doorway with a scowl etched on Tala's face.

"I was calling for you for fifteen minutes straight! Didn't you hear me?" the icy blue-eyed teen asked, with an irritated tone on his voice.

Bryan ignored him and pulled Tala outside the room, while closing the door. "Is Rei allowed to go out this room, with or without permission?" he asked, while giving Tala a serious look.

Tala was a bit surprised at Bryan's question and shrugged. "Unless your childhood friend wants to get his ass kicked then I'd say no… why you ask?" he asked curiously, letting himself get dragged by his boyfriend when Bryan cussed under his breath and took him by the hand, running down the corridor as if searching for someone.

"Let's just say that… Rei's not hungry and _literally_ skipped his meal…" Bryan mumbled while turning right into another corridor.

"Oh… I see… _WHAT_?" Tala yelled, while accidentally bumping onto Bryan when the lilac-eyed teen stopped at one of the doors. Bryan pushed the door open, scanning the area to see if Max and the others were there, and fortunately they were.

Max looked at the couple curiously, while munching on another piece of pie. "Hey, you guys! We were wondering where you were… Oh! Bryan, did you give Rei's lunch to him yet? Do you want some pie - Hey, what's wrong?"

Bryan entered the room, and let his boyfriend sit by one of the armchairs, letting Tala breathe the amount of air that he can. "Max or anyone of you… you haven't seen Rei, have you?"

Tyson gulped down the food he was eating and shook his head. "Nope, no one was allowed to see him unless you have a permission, don't you? Why do you ask?" he asked, while drinking a goblet full of water.

Bryan and Tala looked at each other in the eye and looked at the people before them. "Uh… no reason."

"Oh… haha, for a second there I thought that Rei just suddenly ran away or something… haha…" Tyson laughed freely, thinking that the two were joking, not noticing Tala looking at the ceiling and Bryan smacking his forehead.

Kenny and Dizzi looked at each other, while putting two and two together in their heads… "You're not suggesting that… Rei abandoned the wedding, did you?" Dizzi narrowed her eyes, while slowly glaring at Bryan.

"Uhh… maybe…?" was the only reply.

"**_NOOOOO!_**" Kenny wailed, while clutching his hair with a terrified look in his face. "Could this day get any worse? First, everybody woke up late today - particularly the _bride_ and the groom, second, the ceremonial clothes aren't even here… and now Rei ran away? _AAAAHHHHH…_"

Max gave a nervous giggle, and stuck his foot out to stop the brunet from running in circles, seeing someone come in the room. "Hey Kai! Want some pie?" he asked anxiously, while the others froze slightly when the blonde had mentioned the groom's name.

_Uh oh…_ all of them thought.

They all turned around (with the exception of Max) and saw Kai's emotionless crimson eyes and tensed body when he had heard Kenny's loud exclamation. Is it true that his raven-haired beauty got cold feet and decided to run away? Nonsense… Rei wouldn't do that, right? Kai glared at them all, and left the room while ignoring Dizzi's "Kai! Wait a second!" He went out the courtyard, and ran all the way outside the forest. He's going to look for Rei, the slate-haired youth decided. He wants the neko-jin in his life… and so, he's not going to let go of him… not now…

Not… _ever_…

**

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**Kai: **-glares at the sleeping Crystal-

**Tala:** -has an amused look- Wow… if looks could kill, my precious cousin's probably dead.

**Kai:** Hn…

**Tala:** -snorts- Oh come on, it's not like she's not going to let you two marry… if she doesn't do that, a whole mob of readers are going to come and beat the crap out of her… -shakes head in exasperation- Anyhow, Crystalinne hopes that you enjoyed this chapter, and she would very much like some feedback, as always… uhh… what else am I going to say… -looks at the paper he's holding- Oh yeah! And she's going to make sure that she updates _before_ she comes back to school… which is a very long time too, I might add…

Anyhow, this Ivanov Tala, saying good-bye and that I'm somehow going to force Crystal to start writing the last chapter. Sayonara!


	21. I do!

And here is the last chapter of Breathe. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything!

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**Breathe - Chapter 21: I do!**

Tyson looked at the now empty space where Kai had stood not too long ago. Oh, how are they going to explain not only did Rei ran away… and now Kai as well? He was pretty sure that the rest of them would be thrown into the dungeons for not stopping them. He shuddered at the thought, and stole a piece of pie from his boyfriend's plate.

"What're we going to do?" Kenny continued on wailing right after Kai left. "We're going to be in so much TROUBLE! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

Bryan's left eye twitched unceremoniously and tried not to strangle his childhood friend. Wailing and panicking like that won't solve the problem! He rolled his eyes when Dizzi tried to calm the poor brunet. His lilac eyes watched Tala pacing back and forth, as if he was trying to think of something. "Any ideas?" he asked him.

The red-haired teen shook his head and stopped walking back and forth. In less than an hour, the parents/grandparent of the _bride_ and the groom would come up to their rooms and collect them, and Tala was fairly sure that they would be really shock, if not enraged that Kai and Rei were missing. But then again, Kai wouldn't run away like that… maybe he's looking for Rei? His contemplating moment was disturbed when Max spoke.

"Rei's not the type to run away…" Max interjected, while tilting his head. "Maybe he just took a walk or something… you never know."

Kenny shook his head at the blond's theory and crossed his arms, finally stopping his babbling nonsense. "On the day of his wedding? Especially when he's told _not_ to go out of his room?"

The only girl of the group sighed and looked out of the window. These boys were really clueless, she considered. She fully agreed at Max's idea that Rei probably only took a short walk, but what she didn't get is that why? Her violet-coloured eyes looked outside the window to see the sun shining brightly down by the fields. She can't see the decorative fields for the ceremony since it was on the other side.

She knows that Rei would never ever disobey his Mother's orders… he's too nice for that, granted he yelled at his cousin because he was pissed off, but that wasn't the point. "I'd have to agree with Maxie," she gave her opinion and turned to her boyfriend. "Rei would never go against the Lady's wishes…"

The brunet sighed and stopped pacing, making Bryan sigh with relief. He was really getting agitated at the pacing that he would actually make a hole and throw Kenny in it. "Do you think we should start looking for the both of them now?" Bryan flatly suggested whilst looking at his watch. "'Cause you know, in a few more hours the wedding's about to start…"

Tala, who sat on one of the armchairs after his pacing spree, suddenly stood up with his left fist up and his face full of determination. "We should! We have wasted countless of hours brainstorming ideas of getting them together and we are _not_ going to let them ruin it now! They're so _close_ to being together, damn it! I'll go _insane_!" he exclaimed and then glared at Dizzi, who muttered quite loudly that he already was, and dragged Bryan and Tyson ("Hey, I wasn't finished with that pie! LET ME GO, YOU LUNATIC!") and left the room, leaving the rest with the blank stares etched on their faces.

The red-haired boy strode fast as he clutched to Bryan and Tyson's arms like a vice grip, ignoring the colourful words that were coming out of the latter's mouth. He peered through to the other corridor checking to see if anyone was there. Fortunately for them, there was no one and Tala proceeded to drag his boyfriend and childhood friend until they got out of the castle.

"Would you MIND letting go of me now?" Tyson grumbled, as he shift his eyes from left to right to see if they were being followed. He grumbled even more when Tala ignored him again and sulked when Bryan threatened him that the older teen would be shoving bars of soap into his mouth if he keeps on swearing.

Poor Tyson… not only he didn't get to finish eating his pie, but he was being dragged like a rag doll and being threatened like… like a bratty little child who kicked their obnoxious aunt, who coos and pinches your cheeks really hard, in the shin.

Meanwhile, back in the room, Kenny, Max and Dizzi were still looking at the door where their friends had gone out.

_So… what're we supposed to do now?_ The three of them thought.

* * *

If you walked towards further into the forest, you would notice a big lake sitting in the middle of it. And at the edge there was a small dock, and by the small dock sat a figure with ebony coloured hair braided with ribbons intertwining with the braid. Since the said figure wasn't wearing any fancy clothes, the pant-legs were pushed up to the knees so that the legs were dangling by the cool water.

Rei looked straight ahead as he leaned back a bit, his hands supporting him. He'd been there not too long ago - he was sitting by the edge of the cliff at first, but he realized that he could fall or someone might push him and left - and he enjoyed the quiet atmosphere surrounding him. It had been too stuffy back at the castle and the last time he checked, he'd been thinking about absurd thoughts and he thought he was being delirious with nervousness because of it.

He sat up suddenly, looking back at the bushy trees thinking that someone had yelled his name. Rei's face frowned softly, and then scolding himself for hallucinating and then returned back to staring at nothing. Unfortunately for him and his new found idea of being insane, a few minutes later he heard someone calling out his name again but this time much closer.

_What's going on?_ The neko-jin wondered, as he stood up, not noticing the water slowly dripping down from his legs thus wetting the surface of the dock he's standing on. He ignored his shoes and started walking towards where he heard his name.

"Rei…!"

Rei froze; suddenly realizing whom the voice belonged to. What was Kai doing, screaming - err, okay… so maybe not scream; after all, an aloof person like Kai does _not_ scream - his name out in the open? Doesn't he realize that the both of them would be in so much trouble right now?

The neko-jin, who was still surprised, kept on walking towards the voice until he saw his fiancé running towards him. His surprised look stayed when Kai suddenly clutched in by the arms and crushed him suddenly into his chest, giving him a backbreaking, rib-cracking hug. Rei was definitely sure that he was going to be paralysed for at least a week because of the hug.

"U-Umm, K-Kai? I can't breathe," the younger boy managed to choke out until Kai had finally released him.

Kai, who was frantically - even though he didn't look frantic - searching for his raven-haired fiancé, gave an adorable, little blush and avoided looking into Rei's hone-coloured eyes. It took him a few minutes to regain his composure; his cheeks turned back into a pale shade once more but he still looked everywhere but Rei's eyes.

"Where were you…?" he asked, this time not noticing the worried tone in his voice (did I mention that there was hint of anxiousness as well?). He suddenly noticed that Rei was also barefoot and raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "And why are you barefoot? Where'd your shoes go?"

Rei flushed in embarrassment and led Kai through the forest until they reached back to the dock where his ignored shoes were. "I was just sitting down there, staring at nothing," he explained while dipping his legs back into the water and watching Kai doing the same thing. "It was getting too stuffy back there, so I sneaked out."

Crossing his arms, Kai smirked at Rei as the raven-haired teen gave him a puzzled look. "You, sneak? I can't picture you sneaking out… you're too much of a goody-goody," he said, ignoring the other boy's scowl.

"Me? 'Goody-goody?' I don't think so… as I recall, a certain day you were covered in _pink_ feathers…" he contradicted, silently sniggering at the memory.

Crimson eyes narrowed and glared at the laughing neko-jin. "So it was you who put those stupid feathers on me…" he murmured, making Rei stop laughing and look at him with nervous eyes because slowly but surely, Kai's own eyes were starting to have a familiar look in them…

"K-Kai…? Why are you looking at me like that…?" Rei asked, as he started to back away from the slate-haired youth. He didn't even realize as he started to lean back, he lost his balance, his head falling first into the water.

_Oh crap! After all those countless hours of torture, wasted! I'm going to be in so much shit that I don't even know if I'm going to be at my own wedding! Here we go… hello dear water, are you prepared to make my life a living hell? … Huh? Where's the splashing?_ He reluctantly opened his eyes to see Kai pulling him back by his arms. Then he looked back and clutched his braided hair protectively and then glaring at the water as if he was daring it to splash him now.

"You should be a bit more careful… Dizzi and your Mother would have a fit when they see your pretty hair all messed up," Kai smirked as he watched Rei murmur some comforting words to his hair. Now it's making him wonder whether Rei cares about it more than him…

Rei on the other hand, gave him a half-hearted glare and then grinned cheekily at him, flinging his arms around Kai. "Thank you for saving me, Kai! I seriously don't know what I'd do without you…"

Just right after Rei had said that… Kai had an epiphany. What would happen to Rei if he weren't there? In fact, what if it was the other way around? As much as Kai hates to let on, he's really grown attached to Rei… sure at first he hated the neko-jin at first, but then again there is a thin line between hate and love, right? Of course, there is! He gave a genuine smile and he gathered the neko-jin into his arms and gently hugged him.

"I don't know what I'd do without you either…" he confessed softly as he heard the other teen gasp at the declaration.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tala, Tyson and Bryan looked at every nook and cranny for the soon-to-be-married couple. They also have to avoid suspicions, especially when one of the advisors - or worse, one of the couple's parents/grandparent and be questioned as to why they're acting like they did something appalling (which they might have done while searching for their friends… but you never know!).

"Okay… the coast is clear," Tala whispered, as he motioned the other two to follow him.

The three of them have been searching high and low, left and right, front and back, so on and so forth. They looked at the couple's shared bedroom, the kitchen (in which the cooks were giving them odd looks because they were looking under the table, inside cupboards, and behind sacks of potatoes), the dining hall (they checked under the tables, ignoring the curious looks of Rei and Kai's relatives whom were drinking tea), and heck, even the dungeons (they looked at each cell, ignoring the torture devices and such)! But to no avail, they haven't had any luck.

Tyson huffed while trying to not smack Tala in the head. "You know, this is so STUPID! How about if we could just split up? It'll be easier that way, right?" he howled, making a few servants look at them with curious expressions.

Tala and Bryan turned around to see the blue-haired teen's suggestion with stunned looks. "That's the smartest thing you've ever said in your whole entire life," the red head replied, while the other just shook his head.

"Hah, of course that was a smart - HEY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN IN MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE?"

Tala ignored him and turned to Bryan, but the latter already took off the other way. His icy blue eyes rolled in annoyance and called out, "We're meeting in front of the courtyard in half an hour!" Hearing his boyfriend's 'Yes' he turned to Tyson who also took off in a different direction.

"What is this, 'Ignore-Tala-Day'?" he sulked and crossed his arms. With a shake of his head, he headed towards the forest and continued searching.

* * *

"D-Did you just say what I think you just said?" Rei asked Kai while he was still in the older one's protective embrace. He wasn't hallucinating, right? Of course, not! But then again… he didn't eat lunch yet, he wasn't even sure if he had some breakfast; so there was a possibility of him hallucinating…

Kai gave a small smirk and reluctantly let go of Rei. He really didn't know why he said that, but it seemed like a perfectly good idea at the time. When Kai heard Kenny's wailing on how Rei ran away from the wedding, he had made a decision that it was time to suck up his nonexistent pride and whatever dignity he has left and look for his fiancé even if he receives weird, odd looks from passers-by.

When he had reached Rei sooner than he thought, Kai's mind went completely blank. Sure, he looked composed and basically the Kai we all knew and love, but he didn't know how to confess now. He wasn't even supposed to see his _bride_ until the ceremony starts. The crimson-eyed youth blames it all on Rei though, no matter how mean that sounded.

Right after he found the neko-jin, what Kai saw was an angel. An ethereal beauty with long braided hair and even if his clothes were casual clothes, he was still considered to be the most beautiful thing in Kai's eyes - and possibly the whole entire kingdom.

"I may be a bastard at times, but I'd never tell a single lie…" he retorted softly - which was getting a bit foreign to him because Kai never does anything soft unless him and Rei were performing some exciting activities… but that's hush-hush until after their wedding - and ignored the desire to kiss the blushing teen in front of him.

"Yes, I guess I can't argue with you there," Rei replied.

_Okay… it's now or never, Hiwatari…_

"Rei…?"

Rei looked at the crimson eyes with a questioning look and tried to avoid them when he realized how passionate they looked. Why was Kai looking at him like that? It looks like Kai was going to do something to him. He knows that it's not bad, but it was quite unsettling because Kai's pretty unpredictable. "Y-Yes?" he managed to say.

"I know that we're only marrying each other because it's arranged and the fact that both of our kingdoms would be strong…" Rei's eyes lowered a bit at the thought. So this is where it's going. Kai would tell him that it has always been that way and nothing changed… "But, now I want to ask you…"

Kai swallowed his pending, once-in-a-lifetime coward-ness and asked, "Will you marry me?" He waited for a few seconds… then minutes, until he couldn't take it anymore. He held Rei's chin and lifted it up only to see honey-coloured orbs glazed with unshed tears. Kai was confused… very confused. Why did it look like Rei was about cry any second?

"You Jerk!" Rei slapped him in the arm and wiped his eyes really quickly, ignoring Kai's yelp and glared right back at him. "You got me almost crying for nothing!"

Now, Kai was just plain confused. He really wasn't expecting Rei to cry and then get mad at him. _Now that really makes him look like girl_, he mused silently as he kept on watching the neko-jin ranting on and on. He didn't even realize that the younger one stopped rambling and just decided to glare at him - the glare was hardly intimidating and it only made Rei look _way_ cuter.

"So… why am I exactly a jerk?"

"Because…"

"Because…?"

Rei twiddled his thumbs and bit his lip. "I thought you were going to say that nothing changed between us…" he mumbled to quietly that Kai had to lean in closer. "I mean, I know I'm just being stupid and stuff because with all the things that our friends have been doing - What the hell are you doing?" His eyes suddenly had a look of disbelief in them when Kai suddenly laughed out of the blue.

"What's so funny?" an indignant question was asked, making Kai stop laughing (although he would chuckle for a second and then stopping again).

"You."

"May I ask why?"

Kai smirked and tucked in a piece of Rei's hair by the neko-jin's ear, enjoying the blush appearing on Rei's cheeks. "Because you're funny that's what. Now… you still haven't answered my question."

Rei smiled and was about to answer until…

"AHA! THERE YOU TWO ARE!"

…Until Tala decided to intervene and ruin the romantic mood, thus making Kai and Rei look at him with staggered looks. Man, what a party-pooper, ne?

"Did you know that the both of you are in serious trouble? Did you ever think about that?" Tala scolded the both of them, not noticing that the both of them were in a heated - romantic - conversation. "The both of you can make out _later_. Later as in when the advisors, your parents and grandparent aren't breathing down your necks! Now let's go!" The red head grabbed both of their arms and helped them up, walking ahead of them, giving them a bit of privacy albeit that he was in a hearing range.

Rei walked beside Kai slowly and until Tala was far enough - he was walking really fast - the neko-jin grabbed Kai's arms and walked in front of him. He didn't even stop and listen to what Kai has to say but instead pulled him down by his shirt and kissed him fiercely.

He then pulled back from the kiss reluctantly and leaned on Kai's forehead. "You want my answer?" he asked while feeling Kai's arms circling his waist.

Kai grunted as he tried to stop the smile that was appearing on his lips.

Rei smiled sweetly and chastely kissed Kai on the mouth again. "Yes." And with that he pulled away from the crimson-eyed youth, only holding his hand now and dragged him towards the still-walking fast Tala, looking as cheerful as ever.

To the neko-jin, it wasn't the full 'I love you and I will cherish you for ever and ever' phrase, but that 'Will you marry me?' sentence was close enough to make it one.

And he would never have it in any other way.

"GET A MOVE ON, WOULD YOU?"

Tala really is an adorable pessimistic.

* * *

While all of those things were happening, Dizzi, Max and Kenny looked cautiously between the advisors. It seems that the three of them decided to visit their parents, and check if the robes have arrived yet; but much to their chagrins, fate was laughing in their faces that their schedule's really behind. To make things worse, there was still no sign from Kai and Rei, and the three of them were too anxious of telling the advisors that the most important people for the ceremony had disappeared (they were afraid of being thrown in the dungeons for telling the older people that the bride and groom had gone missing).

"This is an outrage! How could we go on with the ceremony without the ceremonial clothing?" Sir Ivanov said while pacing back and forth.

"Relax, I'm sure it'll be here," the only female advisor, Judy replied calmly as she took a sip from her tea. She may look calm on the outside, but on the inside there was rage, lots of blinding rage. "After all, I don't think they would want to be the blame for their tardiness."

Dizzi watched Max and her boyfriend gulp slightly at Max's mother's calm tone with an amused look. She even wondered if she's able to do that, once she became an advisor much like her father… that would be so much fun! The violet-eyed girl smiled sweetly when she and Judy shared knowing looks, indicating that the elder woman has seen the gulps that her son and Kenny had done. _Oh yes… so much fun…_

"How can you be so sure?"

"Call it woman's intuition," was the reply.

Max looked on curiously at the advisors. Since they were having troubles with the clothing and such, can't they just ignore that? As in, Kai and Rei wouldn't have to wear fancy clothes? After all, the most important thing is the ceremony, not what they wear! Besides, they'll have less problems to deal with, and not only that they'll be right on track with their schedule! It's perfect!

Seeing the blond's contemplative expression, Kenny and Dizzi's eyes widened. If they were thinking what Max's thinking… that wouldn't be good, at all. They'd be mutilated into nauseating carcasses by the time Tyson and the others find Kai and Rei. When they saw Max started to open his mouth, they signalled him quietly to shut it back up; unfortunately… fate just wasn't on their side today.

"Mother…"

_Oh no…_ Dizzi and Kenny thought.

"Yes, Maxie…?"

"Would it be possible if Kai and Rei could just wear what they're wearing now?"

Silence overtook the whole room as everyone gawked at the blue-eyed youth, who in return, pouted a little when all of the advisors kept on staring at him. Finally, Judy regained her composure and looked at her son warily.

"What do you mean, dear?"

"Well - "

"Eheheh… Maxie, that's enough sugar for you!" Dizzi interrupted, while she and Kenny clamped their hands over Max's mouth. The advisors looked at them with confused looks as the other two dragged the blond out the door. "We'll see you later at the ceremony then, Father… everyone!" she exclaimed, slamming the door shut, making the advisors blink away their confused expressions.

"Huh?"

* * *

Tyson gave a frustrated grunt and paced back and forth at the cobblestone floor of the courtyard. For once he paid attention to what Tala was saying, and for once he was actually early after searching high and low for his childhood friend and his childhood friend's fiancé. When he arrived at the courtyard, he was happy that he was first, seeing as he really hates it that he's always late (it's not like its his fault! Lots of things distract him!).

"Seen Tala yet?" He turned to see Bryan walking towards him, looking aggravated.

Bryan had been looking back at the stables and even got an encounter with Rei's little cousins, bugging him to tell them a story. Needless to say, making up a story with a mushy ending is worse than being stuck in hell and getting your ass spanked by a devil.

"What do you think…?" Tyson grumbled and sat down at one of the benches. "You don't think that he already found them, did you?"

The older one shrugged and crossed his arms. "Wouldn't pass him to doing that…"

"Wow… way to go on boosting my self-esteem," a dry voice said making Bryan and Tyson look that way.

"Tala, you're here! And Kai and Rei are here too!" Tyson exclaimed. "FINALLY! Now, let's go to the kitchen and get some food… all that searching made me as hungry as a horse!" He patted his stomach and turned towards where the kitchen is located.

Tala rolled his eyes and kissed Bryan on the cheek. "Believe me, the last thing I want to do is eat… we have to get the lovebirds here," he jerked his head towards the hand-in-hand Kai and Rei. "Back to their respective rooms before their ass gets kicked!"

"Uhh… Kai… Rei… what happened to your shoes?"

The aforementioned couple gave Tyson an odd glance and looked down at their feet and realized that they left their shoes by the lake.

"Oops."

"Oh crap."

* * *

By the time Rei got to his room and put on a pair of shoes, and made sure that his hair wasn't messed up or anything, Lady Leila came into the room with a smile - although her eyes looked a bit disappointed and thus the neko-jin wondered if she found out that he went out on a little stroll - and saw him holding the book (which was upside down).

"Is there anything wrong, Mother?" he asked, quickly turning the book right side up, hoping that his mother didn't notice.

Lady Leila shook her head and sat beside him with both her hands on her lap. "No, nothing's wrong… It's just…"

Rei curiously leaned his head to the side and closed the book he was pretending to read and place it on the side table. _Did she really found out that I went out for a walk?_ He thought, silently praying that he was wrong.

Again, his mother shook her head and encircled Rei with a hug. "I'm sorry, dear but I'm afraid I have bad news…"

He felt something cold drop down on his stomach. Was Kai bailing the wedding or something? But… what about the incident by the lake earlier? Didn't that mean anything to Kai?

Feeling her son stiffened, Lady Leila suddenly petted Rei's raven hair and laughed softly. "No… not that bad news. Kai's not going to leave the wedding…" she continued to laugh inwardly when Rei sighed loudly in relief - it seems like he was holding his breath - and hugged him tighter. "It's just that… the ceremonial robes aren't here yet, and I'm afraid that you'd have to go with the most fancy clothes you have now."

"Does this mean that you guys would have to redo my hair so that it would match my clothing?"

"Of course, not!" an indignant reply was heard. "It would take at least half a day again… no, that would simply not do. Besides, you have enough fancy clothes in your closet that would perfectly match your beautiful hair. We'll just go through your closet and see what we can find, ne?"

Rei smiled at his mother, hoping that it wasn't too strained. He really didn't mean to say that… his closet's huge that it's considered to be a labyrinth, and it would really take a long time to find the perfect outfit. Why did his mother have to get him clothes once a week?

"Shall we get start looking for it then?"

A huge smile was shown his mother's beautiful face. "I thought you'd never ask!" she exclaimed as she help him stand up and drag him towards the huge closet doors.

Ah… the things he does for his mother.

* * *

The melodious sounds of the organ filled the area as every member from either Rei's or Kai's family sat in the seats, either waiting patiently or crying their eyes out on how their nephews/cousins have grown so much that it seemed like it was only yesterday that their heads were stuck on the banister, or how they were kicked in the bum by horses, etc. Suffice to say that there was enough embarrassing moments for anyone to just write it in a piece of paper and store it for blackmail.

Right at the end by the altar was Kai, wearing his substitute wedding attire. He'd been rather pleasant when he heard from his grandfather that the ceremonial robes were indeed tardy and he wouldn't have to wear some uncomfortable suit that he'd have to waddle like the duck wearing it. So instead, he's wearing loose fitting clothes in which the outer robe has long flannel sleeves that were a bit fitting from the shoulder to his biceps, stopping by the elbow. By the elbow, the rest of the sleeves were a bit wider. He has a turtleneck for an inside shirt with a very, very thin fabric that the material's not itchy, and not that tight either. For bottoms, he's wearing dark coloured trousers with combat boots; a cape-like material was placed on his waist and went down to his ankles, covering his backside. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it was formal enough.

He still couldn't believe that his wedding was starting right now. In fact… he'd never pictured that he was going to spend someone in his entire life… ever. The crimson-eyed youth was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize that Tala was tapping his shoulder until the red head smacked him hard.

"Oof!"

Tala ignored the irritated glare and smirked as he crossed his arms. "You weren't answering!" he defended himself, putting his arms up.

"What do you want, now?"

"Just asking if you're ready is all… I heard that you actually proposed to Rei… not that it was necessary or anything…"

Kai gaped at him - which was highly unlikely - and kept on glaring. "Who told you that?"

Icy blue eyes averted the glare and laughed uneasily. "Uhh… actually, I eavesdropped your conversation… I found you guys right before you Rei almost fell on the water, then I hid by the bushes and listened to you guys were saying…"

When Kai was about to punch the living daylights out of Tala, a stern cough was heard and both looked to see one of the advisors looking at them strictly saying as if they caused havoc just before the people started walking down the aisle, they would experience very harsh punishments. Both winced inaudibly at the gaze and stopped talking to avoid severe maiming.

Suddenly, small children started walking down the walkway with the girls wearing dresses and the boys wearing suits - much to their chagrin - and sat at the seats right behind where the advisors, Lady Leila, Lord Rai and Lord Hiwatari were supposed to sit.

Right after the children walked down, Kai would see his friends and Mariah walking next, ignoring the building anticipation of what would Kai see after they have taken their seats and watch his beloved bride walk down the aisle. Finally, after Dizzi sat on her seat, what Kai saw literally took his breath away.

Walking down the aisle with Lord Rai and Lady Leila was Rei, who was wearing dark baggy pants with a light-coloured cloth embroidered with golden strips on the side slit of the said cloth. His top was also light-coloured and considered to be two things: an outer shirt and an inner shirt (just like Kai's). The inner shirt's sleeves are loose and long that it covers Rei's hands. The outer shirt has dark, short sleeves covering the shoulders with a flat square-ish collar in front and a black bordering of the said collar and with two small ribbons at the bottom corners. It didn't take much time as Rei had expected when they were looking for the clothes he was supposed to wear. Just right after Lady Leila had opened the closet, the outfit made itself known.

Everybody, including Kai of course, gasped at the blushing Rei. They've never seen such a beautiful creature! When the three of them walked down all the way to the altar, Lady Leila both kissed Kai and Rei on the cheek, giving them a watery smile, and Lord Rai shook the crimson-eyed youth's hand and hugged his son and then the couple went to take a seat, watching a small moment between their son and son-in-law.

"Y-You look…"

Rei blushed further when Kai started talking. In his opinion, Kai looked Amazing… with a capital 'A'. He looked just perfect! He's speechless and even if he weren't, he would probably stutter out incoherent words and make a fool of himself.

"Beautiful," Kai finally breathed out, choosing a random word out of the many words he'd describe his neko-jin.

"T-Thank you…"

A cough was heard and both head turned to see the priest looking at them with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. "If the both of you would like to start… shall we?" he whispered.

Both blushed - Kai's blush was only light, but Rei's was getting darker - and nodded. "Sorry, sir."

The priest smiled again and cleared his throat. "We are all gathered here today…"

* * *

Rei smiled as he leaned on the balcony, looking at the starry night sky. Today… had been an awesome day, and that's an understatement. During the wedding, nothing had disrupted them… well, at least not seriously…

_-- Flashback --_

_"We are gathered here today to watch and celebrate the holy matrimonial of Hiwatari Kai and Kon Rei. If anyone chooses that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."_

"_I OBJECT - OWW, DIZZI! IT WAS A JOKE!"_

"_THEN SHUT UP, TYSON! GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT!"_

"_Haha… Tyson, you're such an idiot! I wasn't being serious, y'know!"_

"_YOU SHUT UP TOO, TALA! I knew that…"_

_-- End Flashback --_

_I wonder what possessed Tyson to believe Tala…_ Rei mused, as he watched his guests still celebrating by the fields. A small group of people were playing music whilst his and Kai's relatives would dance to it. A great long table, full of delicious food was placed on the side; the neko-jin saw Tyson sitting at the said table with his plate loaded with food eating and Max was by his side, laughing at the dancing Kenny and Dizzi.

He wandered his eyes more until he saw his parents sitting underneath the tree, sharing a small moment between them. When he had seen the romantic gestures, he remembered the vows that he and his fian - oops, he meant husband - recited to one another. A tear of happiness flowed down his cheek.

_-- Flashback --_

"_I, Hiwatari Kai, promise to protect Rei, keeping him safe from many evil and corrupt entities that may threaten our kingdom. He's my confidante and even though we started off at a bad pace, I was glad to have met him because I've never seen a person with a kind heart and a stubborn personality. I'm glad that I'd spend the rest of my life with him instead of someone else, because I know that there are not many people like him_

"_If I would have to choose between dieing for him or sparing my own life, I would choose dieing for him anytime."_

_Kai finished saying his vow, looking at Rei with an intense gaze and genuinely smiled at the neko-jin, who was really taken aback by his vow. He didn't notice the audience who were also watching intently, some were wiping their tears and others were just smiling contently._

_Rei, who was still dazed after hearing that vow, prayed to the gods that he won't have to stutter his vow out. Fortunately, the deities decided to be nice to him. "I, Kon Rei, promise to be loyal to Kai for the rest of my life. I would always be there for him, supporting him in any way I can. I will help him protect and make wise decisions for our kingdom, and I would make sure that he doesn't overwork himself to death," he paused slightly after hearing some of the guests laugh at the comment. "I trust him with all of my heart and I know that he would never hurt me…_

"_And for that, I would be gladly married to him because he is my most precious person to me."_

_He finished, looking at the ground, not trusting himself to become lost into those crimson depths…_

_-- End Flashback --_

"There you are… I was looking all over for you," a voice said, startling Rei out of his reverie. He turned around to see Kai looking at him with his eyes shining brightly with happiness and love towards him.

Kai walked towards his kitten and gently wrapping his arms around the lithe waist, putting his chin on Rei's shoulder, "How come you're not with the festivities?" he asked.

Rei shook his head and yawned softly, leaning at Kai's chest. "It's getting a bit too loud, and we've had a hectic day… I'm getting drowsy…" he mumbled whilst yawning again.

"Too drowsy for some… festivities of our own?"

"I'm not that tired, you idiot!"

Kai laughed deeply as he followed a blushing Rei inside their room, and then suddenly noticing the chest sitting at the foot of their bed. He then remembered the first time they shared the bed and reading the note that came from his mother-in-law and father-in-law. He was going to go and open it to see what was inside, but he didn't let his unusual curiosity get the better of him and instead, he paid attention to his kitten and proceeded on to a much more exciting activity.

Meanwhile, down at the celebrations, Dizzi sat beside Max and peered through the crowd to see if she could spot the newlywed couple. She thought she spotted Rei, but it turned out it was one of his cousins. The violet-eyed girl sulked, while grudgingly accepted the apple when Max offered her one.

"Have you guys seen Kai and Rei?" she asked Tala and Bryan who arrived and sat down across from her.

"Nope, in fact I haven't seen them since… dinner," Tala said, plucking a couple of grapes from the fruit basket.

Bryan just sat down, trying to ignore the noises Tyson's making while eating. "I've seen them… but… I don't think you want to disturb them."

"What do you - Oh, OH! Yeah, I think you're right…" Dizzi mysteriously giggled, while Max looked totally confused.

"What do you guys mean by that?"

"Nothing Maxie…"

Tyson swallowed the food he was chewing and took a huge gulp of water, patting his stomach indicating that he was finished eating for now and said, "I wonder…"

Tala rolled his eyes and smirk. "Oh no, you guys… Tyson's thinking of something… do you think hell's covered with ice now?" he asked, making the others laugh and the one insulted glare at him.

"Not funny, Tala! Anyway as I was saying… now that Kai and Rei are married… who do you think should be married next?"

Everybody froze at the question and gawked at Tyson. Where the hell did that come from? Dizzi dropped the apple that she was eating and kept on giving the blue-haired teen an odd look. Max tilted his head a little, looking thoughtful all of a sudden, while Tala almost choked on the grapes he was eating and Bryan looking at him astonishingly. Where was Kenny? He's probably somewhere… actually; he's behind where Dizzi, Max and Tyson were sitting passed away because he drank too much wine.

Tyson tried to ignore the unnerved glances that were thrown in his way.

"What? What did I say?"

**OWARI **

* * *

**Crystal:** And I'm done! After a year and some months of writing… procrastinating… more writing… and more procrastinating, I'm done with Breathe! I'm so sad… I really had fun writing this, and I really appreciated the people who reviewed and supported me all throughout this fic!

_Thanks to:_ Sarcasmcat, StarryNightObsession, Bluumberry, Keisan, Legolas19, Shaka Dragomir Noctornus, Coco-bee, Judgement of Tears, C0tt0n Kand3e, Sexy Felton, Your favourtitest cousin (insert smiley face), Raluca, Tenshi-Tara, .At least I know I'm a sinner., La perfectionieste, Demdova, Addictive to Five Alive, White Tiger Kitten, Neko-jin-orange, Aacura, Devlinn Reiko-sama, Tariki Rania, Forfirith The Dark Angel, Keisan, Raven Deathstar, Driger&Dragoon, Rena Star, Reki Onizuka, Readhair Gal Gin, SilverNCold1, Mourir, Platinum Rei, Enelya Aldarion, Danica Loy, SoulSister, Dragon's Ice Chick, Kai-lovr, Iversons Babe, Mix Yaw, Idunno, HimekoSukie, Devilburns, Animegirl8, Lokisash, Saber-hiwatari, Prayers of the Fallen, Sweet-sorrows, Kodoku Wolf, Lone Wolf a.k.a Loner, Siver-eyes Magician Girl, Jirachi, Shadow Phoenix 666, Cocoa Cupcake, Raku Ozzarian Princess, Azn-Hiwatari, Game-kid17, BloodMistress, KilluaBakura, Keri Arishima, saFire flamE, Wolf whirl, Akari Angel, Luana Hime, Lady Snowblossom, IndigoDeath666, Kai-cutie-angel, Amethyst Dust, Pyro, Kuroneko Hikage, Tntiggris, Shirogane Ayumi Asagi Kiyoshi, ManHattaN, Saber Kon, Kat, Adi, Ruriko L Minamino, Zoe, Koneko no Rei, UlTiMaTe KaI LuVa, Shirohikari, Adorable Death Angel Shayde, o Bubbles o, Cat in the web, Ren, Prozacfairy, Silver Kitsune, Moon Bind, Lady AA-chan, Emiz, Kiko cat, Amethyst Tiger Tears, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, Akira J. S., Shadow Tigress a.k.a Kit, Danya, mOoNliTe-rApHsOdy, Blazing Phoenix L, Alex Hiwatari, Shanna, EternalElement, Luminous Carte, GGJ, Phoenixflame 905, Vampyre Neko, Chibi Drigger, Foxdemon, SorrowWolf, ChibiNekoSakura, Neko Phoenix Girl, Neko Jin, XxMaster-ExX, LaDyFiCtIoN, Hyper Breeze from the East, Renanimeangel, LostSoul013, SnowIce, Yukio, Duct Tape Kitten, Kat5, Angel of Pure Darkness, Mizurazame, Neko-jin-2004, Dragon-girl 02, Daaku Hisaki, Kissybear, ChineseKawaiiKitten, Magic and Sparkle, Hatsumi Narita, Mandy Pants, Lei-chi Kon, Natasha, Rei Kai, Chinese Fairy, Tsunami, Hellfire Phoenix, ..., Fluffys-sidekick, Oceana Princess Of Pain, Omili, Probladergirl, Macey muse, Yoko-obssessor, Mimay, Wingedsoldier, Avampiresdilemma, Starvingartist24601, Sophy, Sandra, Kitsune, Dark kai1, AnimeBando33, Ashley, Kura, Yami Pandora, WildChipmunkofYonder, Kizna1200, Shadow Vampiress, Tsunami-girl, BloodyShadows, LonelyTombRobber, Little Myy, NF, '-Lexis Sears-', and Stephanie for reading and reviewing the whole fic!

You don't know how happy you guys made me for sending me reviews and such! I also got to know some of you and for that I'm very glad! -tackle glomps everybody- Anyway… some of you are asking for a sequel, and my answer is… no. It would be really nice for a sequel, really it is, but… I want to focus on my other fics right now (currently I'm working on two chaptered fics and a one-shot) and massive ideas are forming onto my head for new ones. I'm also trying on writing fanfictions from different categories… and okay, I'll stop rambling now. But - I'm really, really, REALLY sorry - there would be no sequels. I hope you will understand that.

And this is I, Crystal, saying thank you and good-bye for the last time on Breathe! Ja ne!


End file.
